Do you have a star in your yard or warehouse? The Australian Warehousing Association have just announced another year of hosting the 2014 Forklift Championships. It’s a chance for fork lift drivers from all over Australia, and even from New Zealand, to show how good they are and compete for the title.
The event will take place on Friday, November 28 in Brisbane. By the end of the day the lucky winners will win trophy, prize money and, most importantly, bragging rights. Previous years’ events have picked up television spots as well as mainstream newspaper publications such as The Age and Daily Telegraph.
Forklift operation is now classed by the government as high risk work and compliance checks are on the increase. New assessment tools for forklift operation have changed to include WHS legislation, calculations and wide and varied forklift theory as well as practical operation.
The AusWA Forklift championship is focused on safety and safe operation in a small area where eye and hand skill coordination are tested to the max. Every contestant starts with a score of zero and points are added when an error is made. Not wearing a seat belt will be a penalty of 3 points to the competition contestant, as an example.
Every year the number of female forklift contestants grows. The judges say have been very impressed with the quality of driving with only a few points’ variation between the top male and female. The number of female of warehouse managers has increased significantly, in what was male dominated world in the past.
If you want to test your forklift operational skills or your workers against the best drivers based on the national standard conditions, register by emailing AusWA on admin@auswa.asn.au.and and submit your registration form. Entrants must be over 18 years of age, hold a valid photo ID forklift licence and be correctly attired.
