Forklift operators have gone paperless. So what? What does that mean to you? You don’t drive a forklift. It means the paperless transformation is nearing completion.
Paper has played an essential role in the development of mankind. And yet, for the last three decades, our civilization has been trying to evolve beyond tree-killing pulp mills; today we’re all about saving the trees wherever possible and we like a paper-free world that will run seamlessly, immaterially on pixels and device screens.
MasterCheck App Disrupts the Forklift Safety Check Form Industry
The pillars of our modern society, finance, justice, medicine and education have already transformed. But other sectors are harder to liberate. The ubiquity of personal devices and security concerns versus the standardization of data creates conflict; the battle rages in airports, factories and equipment depots across the nation. The biggest reason many paper systems exist is because there isn’t a better alternative. But new ideas happen every single day and when they eliminate paper, they’re called disruptive.
Meet the Forklift Stationary Disruptor
Gary Wilson in Toronto, Canada is the owner of Masterlift Inc, a forklift dealership he founded in 2000. Two years ago Wilson conceived and developed the forklift safety inspection app –MasterCheck and now he’ll be forever remembered by history as the fellow who disrupted the stationary industry as it relates to forklift safety check forms. The now 55-year-old Wilson probably never imagined that this would be how history would remember him when he graduated from business school.
Why Create a Paperless Safety Check App for Forklifts?
Wilson knew that managers of forklift fleets were frustrated by the onerous task of completing the legally required pre-shift forklift inspections using paper safety check pads. So, inspired to find a better way, he invented the MasterCheck forklift inspection app and the system he conceived proved superior.
With digital forklift safety checks, managers don’t need to sort through mountains of paper to find documents related to the various types of forklift inspections and reports. Supervisors that use cloud-based filing systems can access data from any device with an internet connection.
Using digital collaboration tools not only reduces paper in the office but makes it easier to share data and circulate information among key managers. This can improve teamwork, encourage innovation, and lead to better problem solving.
MasterCheck App allows employees to share reports including photos of known issues – something impossible to do with traditional paper pads inspections. The device-based methodology is a far more efficient system and provides greater clarity for ongoing issues.
Digital Forklift Safety Reports Help Manage Dangerous Workplaces
Each paper report has to be filled out, signed, handed in or collected on site and brought back to the office, and then filed away inside a metal filing-cabinet. That process is a waste of time and of course, paper.
Going paperless with the MasterCheck forklift inspection app means workers can simply fill out the requisite checklists on a personal or company device and then immediately get back to work.
Digital Resources are Surprisingly Hard to Lose
How can you lose something that isn’t there to begin with? It is possible, but it’s not easy. Although it may seem counter-intuitive, digital resources can be much harder to lose than paper reports, depending on how the reporting is stored.
Digital information is ethereal, and doesn’t really exist, but when using cloud-based storage systems the records are often backed-up in a dozen different databases all over the world. Paper documents by comparison will deteriorate over time, and sometimes they are too dirty to read when stored, or they’re wet, ripped, smudged, crumpled and torn. Or, the very worst case scenario; they’re completely lost. It’s one of the hazards of a hazardous workplace environment; paper documents are perishable.
Digital Safety Check Forms Expand to the Required Size
Using typical forklift inspection paper pads makes it difficult to get very specific about issues. There is limited space to write all of the details of an issues or worse, an accident. This results in operators being discouraged with the paper pad limitations on getting specific about the problems they’ve encountered on the forklift.
Digital forms never run out of space and driver’s answers and notes are always legible. In the MasterCheck App the explanation fields have no limitation so all of the details can be collected. The more details that are collected, the more data that can be analyzed to ensure the best performance of a forklift fleet and operators, and that means a more complete picture will be recorded for administrators.
Digital Safety Check Apps Create More Complete Safety Audits.
What’s the worst-case scenario? The answer is accidents. Safety documentation is crucial to proving due diligence in the case of an audit or worse, an accident investigation. Paper-based systems are prone to errors when operators easily miss crucial fields on their forms. How can managers ensure compliance? With the MasterCheck App, drivers’ signatures are automatically time and date stamped and inspections cannot be saved without all fields being completed. Further, the app allows for photos to be taken and included with every type of inspection which is especially helpful in the case of an accident or repair report.
Digital forklift safety checks build databases filled with accurate information that can be mined for real-time updates on operator or fleet performance. Supervisors can provide audits quickly and easily to anyone in the organization and track completed audits in the Supervisor Dashboard. The web-based Supervisor Dashboard allows management to view key fleet performance metrics anywhere managers go, including on their mobile devices.
So, many more trees will live because of Gary Wilson and his MasterCheck Forklift Safety App.
Photo Credits
MasterCheck app – courtesy MasterCheck app
All other photos by Rob Campbell
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