Understanding your physical and mental capacities, skills, and tolerance towards extreme temperatures is the first critical step to becoming a reliable and efficient forklift operator. During the summers, warehouses receive a ‘more-than-usual’ number of orders because of which forklift operators are often required to work overtime. The summer heat, extreme temperature, pollution, and overworking; all of this adds up and the workers feel exhausted, fatigued, and burned out and they fail to work with the same energy as they do in any other circumstances.
If you’re one of the forklift operators responsible for warehouse management, who feels that their performance drops during the summer season, then you’re at the right place. Here, we’ll share some tips to help you perform well during the summers without burning out.
You Need Some Rest
Your work performance is directly related to your health. No matter how smart you are or how much physical strength you have; if you don’t get enough rest you won’t be able to perform well.
Forklift operators need to be highly alert during their shifts. Their job is physically challenging and mentally demanding. To make sure that you don’t lose your control during the job, prioritize your health, and don’t overburden yourself.
Make sure you’re getting 7-8 hours of uninterrupted rest. Getting sufficient rest will help you improve your response time, perception and awareness, concentration level, and attention span.
Keep Yourself Hydrated
A majority of forklift operators forget drinking water when they’re on the job.
If you’ve some hands-on experience as a forklift operator, you may already know how important it is to keep a clear head during the work. To keep a clear head during prolonged shifts, you need to intake as much water as you can. Keeping yourself hydrated will help you keep your energy levels high, stay present-minded, and perform better.
Pedestrians such as warehouse employees, pickers, and inventory specialists often pop out on the path of a moving forklift, and the crashing leads to accidents and injuries. While they’re equally responsible for all this, you also need to keep your mind present to prevent such occurrences.
To maintain focus at all times, you need to stay well-hydrated. It’s best if you drink at least1-liter of water after every two hours. Make sure you keep a water bottle with you when you’re in a forklift.
Take Short Breaks
Warehouse workers are busiest during the summers and to complete their tasks faster, a majority of workers don’t take breaks which burns them out and negatively affects their performance and presence of mind.
Slight negligence of a forklift operator can lead to potential accidents. Consistently working back to back, can drain your energy even if you drink lots of water. Make sure you take some time to relax and take breaks to relax and fresh up.
Every time you feel queasy, burned out, dizzy or unbalanced, get under a cool area and cool down yourself.
Forklift Maintenance
Regardless of what material handling equipment you’re using, you need to properly understand its working capacity, functionality, and features to operate it according to the manufacturer’s guidelines and keep it in good condition for a long time.
During the summers, forklifts often overheat because of lower coolant levels. As a forklift operator, it’s your responsibility to regularly inspect the forklift’s coolant levels, and hoses for any cracks or wear and tear. If you notice something wrong, inform your manager and get it fixed.
Summer heat can also lead to the cracking of tires. To stay on top of your forklifts’ performance, inspect them regularly, and inflate them to adequate pressure. If they look overly damaged then consider replacing them with the new ones, before using the forklift the next time.
Protect Yourself from Direct Sunlight
If you’re an outdoor worker, you need to pay some extra attention to your health and safety. If you need to protect yourself from heat-related illnesses, try staying out of the sun as much as possible. Whether you work in a dock, a shipyard, or any other outdoor setting, make sure you’re wearing sunscreen, wearing a hat, and try to work under a roof, for as much time as possible.
Outdoor forklift operators are exposed to the powerful UV rays for a prolonged time which often leads to sun poisoning, heat exhaustion, and heat rash. Make sure you’re always wearing sunscreen during work and if you’re working for an extended period, reapply a high-quality sunscreen every two hours.
Common symptoms of heat emergencies and heat-related diseases include heavy sweating, seizures, confusion, muscle cramping, loss of consciousness, headache, irritability, loss of focus, nausea, dizziness, and weakness. If you observe any of these signs on a regularbasis, try to consult a doctor, improve your diet and maintain hydration.
Sign Up for A Premium Forklift Training Course in Coventry
To prevent any accidents and to keep your industrial productivity levels up during the summers, a warehouse manager needs to ensure that their forklift operators are technically smart and understand forklift safety requirements.
Looking for a forklift training program near you? RS Forklift Trainingoffers RTITB forklift certification to people who operate and manage forklifts and transportation tasks in a warehouse, construction site or any other company. If you’re in search of reliable and flexibleforklift training courses in your area, then check out their courses as they’ve some of the best forklift trainers on board, who’re committed to preparingtheir clients for working in a warehouse or looking to get a decent job. They also allow people to choose their class schedules according to their timetables.
The company offers services in Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Manchester, and Leeds. Contact them on their website for further inquiries.
About the Author
The author of this post contributes regularly to RS Forklift Training’s website. She has been in the forklift safety training industry for more than a decade.
