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| Past Issues |
Nov/Dec 2009 |
The recent 2009 Ciltsa National Forklift Driver of the Year competition
was a great success but, as W hile some may regard the forklift truck (FLT) industry as a “Cinderella” sector of road transport operations, it should be borne in mind that almost every piece of equipment, furniture or food item you come into contact with has, at one time or another, been moved by a forklift. As Pieter Botha, one of the organisers of the 2009 Ciltsa National Forklift Driver of the Year competition says: “They don’t pack trucks by hand anymore.”In terms of operating these machines, Western Cape drivers are tops as evidenced by the fact that they swept the board at the recent Ciltsa National Forklift Operator of the Year competition. And it is not the first time they have done so either. According to Botha, who was the competition co-ordinator in Kwa-Zulu Natal, it is a regular occurrence. “They do it all the time,” he says wryly. John Meiring, a Ciltsa council member and a "chairman" of the competition organising committee, says FLT operators in the Cape have their own unique style. “They have a certain flair and flamboyance that leaves the other, more conservative, competitors in the dust,” he says. Fa-eez Swail, a senior shop steward at SACD in Cape Town, who took first prize in the counter balance forklift and the vanning and devanning categories, and second prize in the reach truck category and was ultimately named “Champion of Champions” at this year’s event, says it is all to do with passion. “We operators from the Cape approach this competition with passion in our hearts,” he says, adding that in spite of the enthusiasm of the Cape-based operators, the competition is no walk over. “It’s very tough out there,” he reckons. This year’s competition, held in Johannesburg towards the end of October, attracted 17 entrants from various locations around the country. The competition involved a number of disciplines using counter balanced trucks and reach trucks. While the standard of the competitors from all regions was high, nothing could touch the Cape Town operators who took all major prizes except for two. These were the third place positions in the container vanning and de-vanning and counter balanced truck categories which went to Durban-based Bidfreight Ports (De Pillay) and Rennies Distribution Services (Hlela Zulu) respectively.
History The first Forklift Truck Operator of the Year award took place in Cape Town in 1975 and by 1978 had become a national event. In those days, it was held under the auspices of the Institute of Materials Handling but now falls under the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport of South Africa (Ciltsa). Des Fell, MD of Cape Town-based Accredited Training and head of the adjudication panel at the national finals and a founder of the original competition, sees this as a most important event. “It gives recognition to the FLT operators and the role they play in the logistics chain,” he says. “Poor or inadequately trained FLT operators cause a lot of damage to the machines, the products, the racking and shelving – as well as to the trucks. “The competition also provides an opportunity for the bosses and supervisors who are able to compare their FLT operators with the best in the country and see if they are up to standard and where the weak links are.” Gauteng competition coordinator, Johan de Klerk, says the event encourages professionalism and enhances safety among FLT operators while Meiring describes it as “essential.” “It helps to lift standards and sets critical safety benchmarks. It also provides the perfect opportunity for middle and senior management to observe just how critical these operators are to the well being of their companies and their customer base.” Reflecting on the competition and the role of FLT operators in the transport industry, Fell says the Institute of Materials Handling was responsible for the introduction of the FLT Operator driving licence requirement and delineating the actual driving test the operators must undergo. That was in 1992. Since then the standard of driving among FLT operators has shown dramatic improvement. “I remember that first competition we held,” Fell recalls. “The FLT operators had the judges literally running for cover. Those guys were dropping pallets and knocking over racks and shelving. It was chaos.” Fell says that by comparison, the current crop of FLT operators are quite sophisticated even by global standards. “A few years ago I accompanied South Africa’s ‘champion of champions’ FLT operator to an international competition in Sweden and although he didn’t win, he did extremely well against the world’s best.” Comparing South Africa’s FLT sector with those of Europe and America, Fell says that our productivity could be better but the standard of driving is comparable. One area that does need attention is in the supervision and management of the machines and operators. “Proper supervision would boost efficiency and productivity and reduce the number of accidents involving FLTs,” Fell says. “If management does not pay much attention to the FLTs, you can be pretty sure the operators don’t.”
Licences As mentioned, since 1992 when the law requiring all FLT operators to obtain a licence was promulgated, the standard of FLT operation has improved and the number of accidents, deaths and injuries involving FLTs in the workplace has decreased significantly. Botha concurs: “There is no argument that operating skills have significantly improved. Up until 1992 FLT operators were being killed and injured in accidents on a weekly basis. By 2005 this had fallen to only five deaths being reported during the entire year.” In spite of the law, Fell, says there are companies who avoid licensing their FLT operators due to financial constraints or because the law requires all FLT operators to undertake a recognised and approved five-day leaner’s course before they can be licensed. “If there is an incident involving an FLT and the operator is not licensed, the authorities can come down on you pretty hard,” Fell says, adding that the agricultural sector is particularly recalcitrant when it comes to complying with the legal requirements concerning FLT operators. The one ray of light in this area is the fact that an increasing number of forklift rental and leasing companies are requesting that operators produce a valid FLT operating licence before they supply a machine. Training Botha, Meiring and De Klerk all express some concern over the level and quality of FLT operator training. There are, it appears, problems with a lack of proper standards, fly-bynight companies selling FLT operating licences, training institutions taking short cuts by training too many students at one time and so on. Botha says a lot of companies are reluctant to pay for their drivers to be properly trained – and this is spite of the fact that any investment made in training can be reclaimed from the Transport Education and Training Authority to which they pay levies. De Klerk adds to this, saying that while companies are compelled by law to have their FLT operators re-certified every two-years, this is not being carried out with any due diligence. A further problem that has to be addressed is that while many FLT operators are functionally illiterate, the Department of Labour says they must have at least a Grade 7 certificate. In the meantime, the FLT truck industry can reflect on a job well done over the last 15 or so years. With operator skills reportedly significantly improved, and accidents significantly reduced, there is a lot to cheer about. OK, so there is work to do in the area of efficiency and productivity but that is a management problem and the sooner they tackle this problem the better. Now all the FLT operators outside of the Western Cape must do is find a way to beat those annoying Cape Town operators at their own game! |
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