Are your warehouse workers well-trained? The question is important. You may be a stickler for following OSHA training guidelines and meeting requirements, but training your employees should go beyond what OSHA mandates. The warehouse is a busy place, and vital to the success of your business. Property training reduces the number of workplace injuries, increases productivity, and generally helps your warehouse run more smoothly. Let’s take a look at some best practices for warehouse worker training.

• Hire competent people. Working in a warehouse might not seem complicated, but in fact, warehouse workers must be able to process complicated orders, operate heavy machinery, and work with data systems.
• Use training to strengthen skills more than to impart knowledge. When you hire the right people and utilize training that builds on their existing skills and makes the best use of their talents, you create more confident and competent employees.
• Train workers to use available technology. There’s so much technology today that can improve the way your warehouse functions. Warehouse management systems, scanning systems, warehouse automation, and voice technology are all advances that have been in place for many years. The modern warehouse has the option of going completely paperless, which reduces operating costs and promotes sustainability. As you implement new technologies, train your employees to use them proficiently, and your business will benefit.
• Cross-train for best versatility. When workers know how to do a variety of jobs, they become more well-rounded. That’s a great benefit to the employees, and the benefits to the business are obvious: when your employees can do a number of jobs well, your business runs more efficiently. Additionally, there will be less of a scramble when someone can’t make it to work because there will always be someone who can cover for a fellow worker.

Training matters because it sets your workers, and your business, up for success. Another way to help workers succeed is to provide them with the right tools to get the job done. When you’re shopping for forklifts, Atlas Toyota has the variety and service that make it easy to find exactly what you need to help your warehouse employees succeed.

Started as a way to improve the pallet industry, Atlas Toyota has been internationally recognized and consistently ranked as one of the top privately held companies in Illinois for more than 60 years. With over 115 certified technicians with an average of 17 years’ experience working 24/7 to make sure every piece of equipment in our hands is working properly, and four full-time Service Writers to make sure customers’ needs are met, we provide excellent service to everyone who walks through our doors. In addition, we have a full-time trainer on staff, providing both safety and technical classes that allow customers to become certified forklift operators. When you’re ready to buy your next forklift, contact us for sales and service you can trust.