Forklift Drivers
Operate forklifts to move bulk materials, containers, crates, palletised goods, cartons and bales.
A fast shift in the cold store
You are a forklift driver at a busy cold-storage warehouse, loading and unloading pallets on the evening shift. It is 6pm, the dock is busy and there are trucks lined up outside. The supervisor wants every pallet moved quickly, the aisles are tight, and the next hours will test your care and your patience.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
We have four trucks waiting and everyone is behind. I need you to move quicker, and cut through the pedestrian walkway to save time. I'll take responsibility. It's just for tonight. Can you do it?
Cut through the walkway, but go slowly and sound the horn the whole way, since Tess takes responsibility
A packer steps out from behind a pallet wrapper into the walkway. You stop in time, but only just. A supervisor cannot take away the risk, only the blame.
Stay on the marked route, tell Tess how much time it would really save and suggest a second driver
Tess does the sums and agrees that the saving is small. She finds a second driver for an hour. The trucks are all loaded, and nobody is put at risk.
Stay on the marked route but drive faster, and try to make up the time on the straight sections
You avoid the walkway, but a higher speed on a polished floor makes the forks swing wide near the racking. You clip a pallet and have to restack it.
This pallet has a leaning stack and the wrap looks loose. I think it was fine when I wrapped it, but it moved in the truck. It's on the dock now. It would take a minute to fix, but you could just take it as it is, couldn't you?
Take it slowly as it is, since it's only going a short way and she says it was fine when she wrapped it
On the turn, the top cartons slide off and burst on the floor. The aisle is closed for half an hour while the cold room is cleaned. A minute of fixing would have been shorter.
Check the load, ask Amara to rewrap it and then move it
The rewrap takes a few minutes, but it is the right fix. You could also have mentioned the problem to the supervisor so the truck's loading is checked.
Stop and look at it, ask Amara to rewrap it and tell the supervisor the load shifted in transit
The rewrap holds and the supervisor tells the transport company. A loose load travelling in a truck is a problem for everyone down the line.
Could I ride on the back of your forklift to the end of the aisle? It's a long walk in the cold and my feet are freezing. It's only a hundred metres, and I'll hold on. Nobody will see.
Say yes, since it is only a short way, he is freezing and nobody will ever see him sitting there
A pallet on the floor catches the wheel, and Josh is thrown off. He is only bruised, but it could have been much worse, and you are the one explaining it to the supervisor.
Say no kindly, but offer to ask the supervisor for warmer gloves or a break
Josh walks, a bit annoyed. The supervisor finds him a better pair of gloves, but the kindness could have come with a clear reason about why he cannot ride.
Say no, explain that nobody rides on a forklift, and take him to the supervisor about the cold
Josh is sent for a warm-up break, and the supervisor reviews the cold-room clothing. He leaves with a better understanding of why the rule exists.
How it went
The trucks left on time and every pallet was moved without a spill. Forklift driving looks simple from outside, but it asks for sharp eyes, calm hands and the courage to slow things down. Could you be the person who keeps a fast workplace safe?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The forklift that was not yours to take
A fictional case set in a large cold-storage and distribution warehouse supplying supermarkets in a fictional regional city.
The situation
Nikolai drove a forklift on the night shift at a cold store near the freeway. A casual worker named Josh, who had not yet finished his forklift training, asked to borrow Nikolai's truck for a few minutes to move a pallet from the dock. Nikolai was on his break. The dock was crowded, a truck was waiting, and Josh said he had driven one before on his uncle's farm and it looked simple.
What they did
Nikolai said no, and explained that only people with their licence and site induction could use the forklift. He offered to move the pallet himself as soon as his break was over, and asked the shift leader whether a licensed driver was free sooner. The shift leader found another driver, and Josh spent the time shadowing Nikolai and learning the aisle rules.
How it turned out
The pallet was moved ten minutes later. Josh was embarrassed at first, then relieved when his own licence assessment was scheduled for the following week. Nikolai's shift leader thanked him in the team meeting, though no one used the word 'hero'.
What would you do?
- How would you say no to a colleague who is certain they can do it?
- Why is a licence required, even if the person has driven one before?
- What might have happened if the pallet had been moved by someone untrained?