It’s National Forklift Safety Day. Here’s What Actually Keeps People Safe.
Today is National Forklift Safety Day, observed every year on the second Tuesday of June. It’s a good prompt to stop and think about the forklifts moving through your facility, and especially across your loading dock, where people work shoulder to shoulder with heavy equipment every shift. It’s also where a surprising share of trouble happens: industry data puts roughly a quarter of facility accidents at the loading dock.
But forklift safety isn’t a one-day effort. The forklift that runs safely today needs to be just as safe on a random Tuesday in November, when the crew is tired and the dock is slammed. So while the day is worth marking, what keeps people safe the rest of the year is the work that happens behind the scenes. A lot of that comes down to one thing: training.
Why training matters most
Most forklift incidents aren’t freak accidents, they’re preventable. And the single biggest factor in preventing them is whether the person operating the truck truly knows what they’re doing, on that specific equipment and in that specific environment.
That isn’t just good sense, it’s also the law. OSHA requires every forklift operator to be trained, evaluated, and certified before they ever pick up a load. A safety video and a thumbs up don’t cut it.
A few things worth knowing about forklift training
If it’s been a while since you looked at your program, here’s what’s easy to let slip:
- Certification isn’t forever. Operators need to be re-evaluated at least every three years.
- Some things trigger a retrain sooner, including an accident or near miss, operating unsafely, switching to a different type of truck, or a change in the workplace itself.
- It has to match reality. Training should cover the actual equipment your team runs and the actual conditions they run it in. Generic doesn’t count.
- It’s not only about the operator. Many incidents involve people walking nearby, so pedestrian awareness matters as much as driver skill.
- The basics still matter. A quick pre-shift inspection catches small problems before they become big ones.
Building a culture of safety
Training is essential, but it’s one piece of a larger picture. On the loading dock especially, safety comes from combining trained people, clear processes, and well-maintained equipment. When all three are in place, safe operation stops being something you have to think about and starts being the way things simply run.
OSHA compliance is the floor, not the ceiling. The facilities with the strongest safety records treat it as a starting point and build a genuine culture of safety on top of it. National Forklift Safety Day is a fitting reminder to check that the foundation is solid.
Share our 5 Ways to Practice Forklift Safety video with your team as a quick reminder of forklift safety best practices.