Walkie Stacker & Electric Pallet Jack Certificate

Operator's certificate for pedestrian-operated forklifts and pallet jacks (electric and manual)

Fast and effective training for operators of walk-behind forklifts. If you have a pallet jack, walkie stacker, straddle truck or any variation of pedestrian-operated forklift, your operators and business would benefit from our comprehensive online theory training.

This course will give your operators a competency certificate that meets your Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 requirements to provide training and induction.

Use our online training for first time operators, and also as a refresher for operators needing their 3-yearly renewals.

The course covers:

• Manually operated pallet jacks
• Walk-beside electrically powered pallet jacks and walkie stackers, and
• Walkie stackers with a ride-on platform.

Experienced instructor, Stan Chesswas, explains the safest and most compliant techniques for using a pedestrian-operated forklift (POF). He also provides a number of the tips and tricks you won’t find in handbooks.

Why online training?

• No down-time sending staff away to do a course off-site – when you have a slow moment at work, your operator(s) can spend an hour or two completing some of the modules on a computer or smartphone. They can do more later, whenever they get a convenient moment, until the course is completed
• Comprehensive video-based learning covering everything required in the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and the Approved Code of Practice guidelines
• Questions testing learning at the end of each module with explanations after each answer to reinforce learning
• Language and literacy support with translations into 103 languages plus audio recordings in English - operators with English as a second language or poor reading skills don't need to be left out
• Follow your operators’ progress using the management and reporting functions. If you see which modules are causing problems you can provide additional training
• Access to the course materials for 6 months – you can ask operators to repeat modules if you see bad practices creeping in
• Conduct the practical assessment at your workplace - we provide a checklist and video showing the steps to assess the practical. Or use an external assessor – your choice.

What do you get with the course?

• Full access to all training materials for 6 months.
• Comprehensive practical assessment checklist and overview video
• Additional managers can be added at no extra cost
• Downloadable, detailed reports to track and manage operators
• A certificate on completion of the course which demonstrates to WorkSafe NZ that training has been undertaken
• Free set up whether you are purchasing one or 100 course licences.

FAQs

Who is this course for? New POF operators needing to learn how to use a POF safely and effectively; experienced operators needing their 3-year renewal; supervisors wanting to monitor their POF operators’ performance. Make sure your new operators also get lots of practical training on the POF under supervision.

Does the course cover all types of pedestrian-operated forklifts? The theory for safe operation is the same regardless of what type of POF you use. The only difference is that you must provide specific practical induction and training on each piece of equipment that your operators use. This can be done internally, by the manufacturer/distributor, or by an external trainer.

How long before an operator should repeat this training? The Approved Code of Practice recommends three years. But you can get operators to repeat their training as often as you like. Don’t leave it longer than three years as you need to be demonstrating that you are providing on-going training and induction for HSWA2015 compliance.

I have always used an external accredited trainer. Isn’t this a legal requirement? No. It is not a mandatory requirement of the Approved Code of Practice. You can choose to use an accredited trainer if you know an excellent one. Competenz provides a list. But by using our online training you know you are getting excellent, consistent training every time.

The same argument applies to any external trainer whether accredited by Competenz or not. There's nothing in law that stops you doing the competency training in-house. The Approved Code of Practice has a set of recommendations, but they are only guidelines.

So why is in-house training better than using an external trainer? The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 allows you to comply with the Act in the way that is best suited to your company's requirements, as long as the method doesn't deliver a worse health and safety outcome than the recommendations in the Code. Online learning is more in-depth, more inclusive with our translations and audio recordings, and can be repeated as many times as is necessary to gain understanding. Doing internal practical assessments on your own machines and in your own working environment gives you an understanding of your operators’ skill levels and allows for ongoing monitoring. If you send them out for training you don’t see what they are learning or get a benchmark for their measuring their operating skills on a day to day basis.

The practical checklist is straightforward to follow and tests the operator's competence on the day of the assessment.

Do I have to do NZQA unit standards? Not for the operator's certificate.

How do you prove that a person has done the training when it's online? We recommend that your operators do the training at your premises (either on your computers or tablets or using their smartphone) so that you can ensure it is them doing the training and not another person. Our clients tend to schedule convenient, short sessions where an operator can use those facilities.

Requirements

• One course licence for each person taking the course
• A computer, smartphone or tablet with internet access to take the theory training
• Completion of the practical assessment either using an experienced in-house POF operator such as an experienced supervisor, or an external assessor. An external assessor will probably charge for this. For more information about the practical assessment for all types of POF training, click here.