Maintenance and paperwork reductions add to benefits

By Marisa Torrieri

When the fleet you manage runs on an indoor landscape spanning 220 acres, it’s hard to keep track of who’s running what equipment. And if you have contractors from other companies working on the weekends, you might have no way of guaranteeing they have the OSHA-approved training required to operate your vehicles.

These were burning concerns two years ago at Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Georgetown, Ky., says Rick Noe, the group leader in forklift maintenance of the plant that builds the Camry and other models. Should these drivers get into a serious accident, Toyota could be slapped with an OSHA citation or worse, Noe says, adding that it was not unusual to see the entire carriage torn off a forklift, and have no idea who was responsible.