Job satisfaction and professionalism are keys to success in materials handling operations
Your lift truck operators’ performance has a huge effect on the productivity of your business. So let’s not take them for granted. Here we offer some tips on boosting operational efficiency by maximising your forklift drivers’ motivation.
Remember that forklift drivers are skilled professionals. Their work is essential to the reliable running of the supply chains on which modern society depends. Treat them with professional respect and help them to develop their knowledge and skills continuously. Consult with them and involve them in decision making. And optimise their working conditions to avoid any obstacle to efficient operation.
Encourage and reward progress and good practice in materials handling
Highlight the professionalism your forklift drivers show. Make sure everyone in your company recognises it. Measure and report performance indicators such as load-moving output and low accident rates. Emphasise the importance of precise and smooth load handling, at optimal speeds. Skilful professionals know that this is more productive, with fewer accident-related time losses, than a rushed approach.
Similarly, acknowledge and reward the effort and attention drivers give to forklift daily checks and to following safety procedures. Care for their materials handling equipment and for their co-workers’ welfare is another sign of a highly professional operator.
Give your forklift drivers every opportunity to receive extra training and certification. Celebrate the awarding of certificates with them and announce their achievements. They should be proud of these qualifications.
Seek forklift drivers’ feedback
Draw on the lift truck operators’ observations and experience. They’re in a great position to spot problems in your operation. Examples might include process bottlenecks, malfunctions or defects in machinery and facilities, and near-miss incidents.
Use their awareness of the forklifts to gain early warnings of mechanical issues. They’re also the best-placed people to judge and report on the trucks’ ergonomics. Symptoms of driver fatigue may develop over time due to strain, vibration and noise. These can be costly in terms of reduced productivity and increased sickness absence. Our article on ergonomics advises further on this issue.
Put ‘end-of-shift storytelling’ into practice as a way of gathering important feedback. This means holding a short meeting between the outgoing and incoming workers to let them know about any issues arising. It can be reinforced by making brief written records.
Give them the right forklifts
Choose lift trucks that your operators will enjoy using. Trucks with designs, technologies and specifications that will help them do the best job possible and give them a sense of achievement. Cat® Lift Trucks is a leader in the field of ‘user experience’. See our article on this subject, which is all about how a forklift makes its driver feel.
Consider the forklift characteristics that maximise driver satisfaction and productivity. In our article on speeding up materials handling, we summarised these as:
- Ergonomics
- Safety and protection
- Vision and precision
- Manoeuvrability
- Smooth control
Ensure comfortable conditions. The operator compartment can be seen as the driver’s mobile workplace or office. He or she needs to be comfortably seated, with everything within close reach – including storage spaces for essential equipment. Easy entry and exit is another fundamental need. The truck’s overall design should allow clear vision without twisting or stretching to see past obstacles in its structure. Our ergonomics article looks further into this subject.
Give your driver a sense of confidence and control. In Cat® lift trucks, the advanced controls and systems are designed to make every action and movement smooth, precise and predictable. Our article on manoeuvrability and control gives examples. These include automated technologies which do much of the thinking – leaving the driver free to focus on the job with fewer distractions.
Finally, or perhaps we should say primarily, involve the drivers in the process of choosing new forklifts. They have expertise and insights to offer. This will be another important endorsement of their professional status.
For further practical guidance on a wide range of topics relevant to materials handling, warehousing and logistics:
- Search our blog
- Search our Eureka online magazine and archive
