Cross-Training isn’t sport, its survival
By Richard Wolfe
The subject of this article may seem strange, but after you look at it, you might just agree that it will pay off.
Do you work with your local fire department by providing them with cars to practice rescuing victims?
They probably don’t know that you can provide them with realistic practice scenes. Think about it. We know how to roll vehicles over. How about a couple of vehicles stacked or against a tree? How about a vehicle on its side, or a car stuffed into a culver with victims in it? How do you think they would do with only the back window to work with? The possibilities are endless.
In return, is there anything that they could provide for your company? How about first-aid or hazardous materials awareness training? This is called cross-training, and it could help you in your business.
Don’t you think that you should know about the dangerous stuff you can and will come into contact with while doing your job? If you are aware of the risks and hazards, then you might be safer and portray a more professional image. And we all know that the towing and recovery industry has an image problem.
I’m not saying that you should get into the subjects to be an expert, but knowledge never hurt anyone, as the saying goes. Besides, this will prove that you really are interested in learning more about anything that affects your job.
Do you really want to walk around an overturned tanker of stuff that can eat the boots right off your feet? You need your feet to do your job. If you were to get them hurt, could you stand to be off work for months? I don’t think so. Besides, chemical burns are really painful and take a long time to heal.
Now, enough about the fire department, what about the highway department, they have classes on how to be a flagger. This course teaches you how to control and direct traffic. Think about it. It a work site, wouldn’t you feel more comfortable with a safety cushion provided by cones and personnel directing traffic? Why do you think they use miles of cones for 10 feet of work area? Wouldn’t it be nice to use your own personnel to do the job, instead of hiring an outside contractor?
What about asking the police to instruct you in defensive driving or proper positioning of your vehicles to provide an area of safety? How about the correct way to use highway flares to direct traffic? The ideas for cross-training are almost endless. You only have to ask.
Oh yeah, how many of you are certified forklift operators? Effective December 1999, OSHA has mandated that everyone who operates a forklift or power pallet jack be certified in the proper operation and safety procedures for the equipment.
Remember, your drivers are the lifeblood of the company. If they are hurt and not working, the truck sits and the money slows down for everyone involved.
