At Ignite, we pride ourselves on ensuring that industry professionals are safe at work. We start with skills validation. An easy way to reduce the risk of an incident or near miss is to ensure that employees have the skills that are represented on their resumes and can perform their job functions safely. We specialize in PIT(powered industrial truck) skills validation. Our branch in Grove City, Ohio is home to our very first training center and a skills validation course in our warehouse. Before putting anyone on a lift, we go through a refresher course where the emphasis on safety is one of the top priorities. Our Safety/Training Manager, Timothy Williams, then conducts the validation in-house. Prior to sending a PIT operator to your site, their skills are put to the test.
Seeing beyond the resume
Some employers have a strong focus on the work history written within a resume and with good reasons. The supply chain industry is very broad. Reading through a resume gives an employer an idea of what kind of products they have worked with, and can tell us a lot of unique experiences and transferable skills. One thing we will not see in a resume is the bad safety habits, unsafe tricks of the trade, or prior near misses a candidate has.
Working through bad habits
During our safety course, we are careful to highlight some of the bad habits that have been normalized amongst seasoned drivers and explain why they are so dangerous. For example, when moving in reverse many experienced drivers will lift their hand and place it on the frame behind them. Oftentimes, they don’t recognize the risk that they may injure their hand when it is outside of the protective frame of the forklift. We are focused on reminding them that no matter how much experience they have, this, and similar actions are unsafe.
How we evaluate and verify skills
Our training center is designed with that goal in mind. After reintroducing safety concepts, we are able to put candidates on the PITs. First, our training manager ensures that the operators are practicing safety before they even move. Seatbelts are required even in our simulated warehouse. Next, they demonstrate their proficiency in maneuverability similar to a driving test. Operators move forward through an obstacle course created with safety cones and once they reach the racking at the top of the course, they demonstrate their ability to safely remove a loaded skid from a rack above eye level. Once they have retrieved the skid, the operator then moves backward through the course while still carrying the load. If the operator does not demonstrate that they can safely operate the equipment that is included on their resume, they do not pass our training course. If they do not pass our training course, we will not send them to the work site.
How to fill in the gaps to elevate operators
An operator not being able to proceed to the work site on their first try does not mean that all hope is lost for them or for our clients. We take the time to address the weaknesses that the operator has and we work with them to build the skills in a controlled environment. We care greatly about important aspects of safety that shape our industry professionals into skilled operators that are not only safety oriented but simply a step above the rest.
Why we take the time to verify and upskill PIT operators
As our brand promise states: We will provide an essential workforce for clients while elevating career opportunities for industry professionals. In order to truly provide an essential workforce for our clients, we must be able to invest time and resources into making sure that the candidate that we send is the best fit for the role and is going to be able to operate safely within the facility. In order to elevate our industrial professionals, we must ensure that we are placing them with companies that are a good fit in terms of skills needed and career goals. It is outlined in our core values. We feel as though we are obligated to ensure the safety of our industry professionals and our clients as this is what we must do to ensure that we are elevating the industry, that’s why we take the time and resources to elevate them.
To learn more about our skills validation process or schedule a site visit, please use the contact us page to speak with our business development leader.
