Santa received a notice of violation( 1910.178) Powered Industrial Trucks.  This is listed as #7 on OSHA’s TopTen violations for 2019.

We must be on the right track because we haven’t seen or heard from the grinch since we began this series.  As mentioned yesterday, training is the most critical part of safety.  I can’t say it enough.  With proper training chances are an elf can retire with all body parts intact.  Powered Industrial Trucks are included in the category of don’t touch until you’ve been trained.  Powered Industrial trucks include tugs, ride-on, forklifts, and any other vehicle that moves within your warehouse using electric, propane, diesel, or reindeer as a power source.

Even before Santa was allowed to fly the sleigh he had to spend hours training and practicing at the controls and learning what to inspect during pre-flight, how to properly hook up the reindeer and board, and care for them as well.  The training should include how to professionally operate the forklift within the confines of or outside of your facility.  You need to know how to inspect the vehicle before operating which must be done at the beginning of each shift and how to properly red tag out of service if needed so someone else won’t operate an unsafe vehicle.  You also need to be aware of the capacity of your forklift.  How much weight can it lift safely without tipping over?  Yes, tipping over.  If you lift beyond what your forklift can handle or shift in the wrong direction it all, including yourself will tip over.

Forklifts are the workhorse for every facility in every trade or industry.  They are NOT toys and are NOT to ever be used in horseplay.  Santa pays an enormous annual workers’ compensation premium and doesn’t need your help to increase it any time soon.  So now the elves will be trained as follows:

1. Never operate any powered industrial truck that you have NOT been trained or certified to operate.  You need to be certified to operate by a trained instructor.
2. Certification is achieved by first completing a classroom training session using a combination of written materials, videos, and instruction.  Document all training with signatures of those who attended and the material covered and keep.
3. Upon completion of the classroom segment, the candidate takes a road test operating the vehicle.  Some think you need to set up some sort of obstacle course as part of the road test.  I want to make sure my elves can pull or put away pallets and load trucks.  That’s what I actually test them on.  Again, document.
4. Demonstrate what to examine and look for during a preshift inspection of a forklift. If it is unsafe to operate never be afraid to RED TAG it.
5. NEVER use your forklift to transport people, as a piece of exercise equipment, like a ladder, like a racecar or drag racer, and NEVER use it for horseplay.

Santa will be taking a breather during the weekend as the crew concentrates on their upcoming deliveries around the world.  He greatly appreciates everyone’s support and good wishes in getting his workshop back in order.  Hope you all have a great weekend preparing for the holidays.