How Forklift Operators Can Save Money in Your Operation

Forklift operators can save you money. I know, you are wanting to say, forklift operators are to help you make money…by getting customer orders out in time. If it ships in time, then you can send the customer an invoice, collect the revenue and make money. But the revenue stream doesn’t end there. There’s additional money that can be saved, which in turn makes that order even more profitable.

How Can Forklift Operators Save You Money?

It is usually not something associated with forklift operators. We tend to look at the drivers as a cost of doing business. However, forklift operators can save you money in both hard costs and soft costs. Let’s take a look at a couple of areas.

Every time there is a worker injury where does morale go? Answer, down. If there is a fatality, where does worker morale go? Answer, down. If a co-worker decides to leave the company and shares their reason for leaving, where does the morale go? Answer, down.

When morale goes down, the operations in the facility gets affected. According to Robert Half, a global HR consulting firm, there are three areas to watch in a worker: 1. A persistent, negative attitude 2. Poor work performance and quality 3. An overactive rumor mill. If any one or more of these occurs in your facility, then there is a price the company will literally pay.

To best address numbers 1 and 3, is all about communication. Be sure to talk ‘to’ the workers, and not ‘at’ them. According to Robert Half, workers are searching for leadership…from you, their manager.

By addressing problems in a timely, positive manner will help maintain a brighter outlook. If there is an accident in the facility, use it as a toolbox learning topic and ask how they can get better and what type of specific forklift training would they need. Engage the workers for their input and ideas. Have them identify what went right…and what didn’t. If they partake in the conversation, the likelihood of them repeating the error will go down.

As a result, work performance can remain high and can achieve new levels of productivity because they are secure in their work, training and direction from managers. Happy workers perform better than reluctant, insecure or overcautious ones.

Another way forklift operators can save you money is on the equipment. By providing your operators forklift training, the equipment costs for damage and being hard on the machines can go down. Clearly, you can get a forklift operator agitated by providing him/her training on the basics, especially if the operator is seasoned. This can go in a negative direction. The best way to train your existing forklift operators is to tailor the training to where their weaknesses lie. Seems impossible? Not really.

By utilizing the S2 Digital Checklist with Impact Monitoring by SIERA.AI, you’ll be able to monitor near misses as well as low, medium and high impacts. This information is being collected and stored in the web-based Dashboard. By analyzing the graphics-based information, you’ll be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses for each of the operators, and tailor the forklift training to the individual worker. This way, you’ll get the best productivity from the worker, and they will appreciate the attention you took on a person-by-person basis. Remember what we just discussed with morale? Which way do you think morale will go with a focused, personalized attention? Answer, up.

Overall, we discussed just two areas in which hard costs and soft costs can be saved. By just addressing these two areas, you’ll make a difference in the company’s overall profitability. Just be sure to track the morale, near misses and impacts and their results. Each of these areas has a cost associated with it. Your manager will appreciate how you’re looking out for the workers and the company, both at the same time.

Contact us at sales@siera.ai today to get tracking with the S2 Digital Checklist with Impact Monitoring.