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Preventing Lift Truck Abuse
If trucks are showing signs of abuse (frequently recurring, unexplained,
and/or "un-owned" damage to component parts), the root cause probably
stems
from an unspoken management policy to accept this condition as a normal cost
of doing business. It doesn't have to be this way. Since we know of
industrial sites where abuse is almost non-existent, we know that it is
possible for others to benefit, too. National LIFTOR www.LIFTOR.com
recommends the following actions that can go a long way toward preventing
abuse to lift trucks.
A. Design and manage a system (set of procedures and criteria) for when
and
how fast trucks get repaired, who repairs them, who can actually requisition
a repair, and how the requisition is to be made (see form characteristics,
below).
B. Train operators in a STANDARDIZED method for performing the Daily/Shift
Examination of their truck. Test them INDIVIDUALLY to make sure they know
how to ask the right questions about the truck's components.
C. Design or buy an ample supply of Daily/Shift Examination forms that have
the following
characteristics:
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A Job-Aided set of DETAILED QUESTIONS that the operator is
required to ask about key truck components. |
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A place for recording: Truck ID, Date, Shift, OK or NOT OK,
Description of item needing repair or replacement, and the operator's
name. |
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A place for recording when and who made a repair to the
truck.
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A place to record up to 31 days and three shifts worth of
examination data on the same side of the form. |
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The form printed on heavy paper such as 64 lb card stock or
80 pound vellum...so it is durable enough to last up to one month. |
D. Using front line supervisors as Test Examiners, train and then
submit
operators to an on-truck test that requires them to respond (with precision
and adequate speed) to EVERY known hazardous condition they could face
during their workday. The test should start with the "Daily/Shift
Examination".
E. Review the Daily/Shift Examination record every month to determine
trends in repairs.
F. Perform a monthly management review to discuss which and how many
operators passed the on-truck test, and the repair types, trends and costs.
This should be done in graphical format and tracked for the fiscal year.
Please call me if you have questions or need discussion of the above.
Thank you,
Joe Monaco
Monaco Group, Inc.
Project Managers for National LIFTOR
LIFt Truck Operator Registry
jmonaco@LIFTOR.com
732-563-4430
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