Forklift Safety Tip #29 How Do I Know When a Forklift Driver Requires Refresher Training?
According to the WorkCover Website- “It is the duty of the employer to ensure that the employees are provided with the information, instruction, training and supervision that may be necessary to ensure the employees health and safety at work. Refer to OHS Act 2000.
An employer should regularly review the training needs of his/her workers. Particular regard should be given to training required by new or young workers.”
So basically, it’s up to you to establish when training is needed. Most of our largest clients conduct refresher training either every year, or every two years. The benefits of refresher training are that operators are brought up to speed on all current laws and all of their bad driving habits are pinpointed, discussed and reported on. You get a training report on each operator to keep on file as well as a certificate to show that they have been refresher trained.
Retraining is especially important for operators who have had their license for many years. Generally, the longer an operator has been licensed, the more bad habits they have in their driving. Also, the greater the chance of them not being familiar with the current laws regarding forklifts.
When an operator has an accident, one of the things that WorkCover and your insurance company will look at is whether or not they believe the operators need for retraining was a cause of the accident.
If you have any question relating to this or any other matter, please feel free to call me on 1300 799 112 or email me nathan@ausforklifttraining.com.au
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