Forklift truck drivers generally enjoy going to work. Research by BLOM Opleidingen shows that more than 70 per cent of forklift drivers are quite satisfied with the job they do. Among drivers with a permanent contract, that percentage is as high as 80 per cent.
Last summer, BLOM Opleidingen conducted a survey of over 1,100 forklift truck drivers. The aim of the survey was to
areas for improvement within the internal transport sector and, in doing so, to
forklift truck drivers a voice.
Compliments
Drivers who were dissatisfied with their job or the company they worked for mainly attributed this to poor communication, time pressure or the supervisor. In the latter case, compliments play a big role. Among forklift drivers who received a daily compliment, 82 per cent were satisfied with their supervisor. Among managers who never give compliments, only 26 per cent of drivers said they were satisfied with their supervisor.
Reporting damages
A key focus of the survey was damage reporting, with 60 per cent of forklift drivers believing that their colleagues do not always report damage, while 92 per cent said they always report damage themselves.
Minor damage in particular is often not reported. “This results in
high costs every year,” says Maarten Dullaert, commercial manager at BLOM Training. “We know that many companies struggle to reduce
damage. These findings suggest that drivers have less confidence in their colleagues in that
respect and that a great many instances of damage go unreported.”
Open learning culture
Dullaert:
“The extent to which damage is or isn’t reported depends very much on the
corporate culture. Although many companies aim to reduce the number of claims, it turns out that
difficult to achieve this in practice.” In the survey, only
one respondent indicated that they investigate the cause and what they
can learn from it. “In an open learning culture, drivers are more likely to report damage.
identifying damage is the first step towards reducing it.
Companies could take a leaf out of their book,” said Dullaert.
See all the results in the infographic below:
Editorial LogistiekProfs
The full white paper can be downloaded here.
