Let's take a few moment to review one of the most commonly overlooked value decisions. Where forklift repair parts should be purchased.

Basic commodities include:

•     Energy - Oil, Natural Gas, Unleaded Gas
•     Agriculture - Corn, Soybeans, Wheat
•     Metals - Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum
•     Meat & Livestock - Lean Hogs, Live Cattle
•     Consumer Goods - Coca, Coffee, Cotton, Sugar

Popular Unique Goods Include:

•     iPhone
•     Oakley Sunglasses
•     Nike Shoes
•     Sam Adams Beer
•     Louisville Slugger Baseball Bat

Other Unique Goods:

•     Toyota Forklifts
•     Toyota Genuine Forklift Parts

Commodities are priced to the market value. Unique Goods are priced to their product value. What would you call the product value of Toyota genuine forklift parts?

Toyota certified forklift technicians have been trained specifically to work on your Toyota Forklift. They know exactly how to care for your forklift to extend the life of your equipment.

Your downtime will decrease: Since Toyota certified forklift technicians have been trained especially to work on your forklift, they'll be able to diagnose any issues quickly and get them fixed. Downtime is expensive, so the less of it you have, the better off you are.

You're not seeing a jack of all trades: Specifically trained to work on your forklift, not an auto mechanic making some extra money!

It is easy to come to the conclusion that the loading dock area is very likely to be the most hazardous part of your operation when you consider the combinations of hazards and the volume of activities that occur in this area.  For the lift truck operator, ramps and inclines, overhead obstructions, dissimilar surfaces often wet and slippery, poor lighting in trailers, other vehicular traffic, pedestrian traffic, restricted views, sheer drops, trailer creep, congested staging areas, and accumulations of empty containers, pallets, and debris are hazards which can all be present at the same time within a very confined area.  While OSHA does require training of lift truck operators on these types of hazards, many operations fail in providing detailed hazard assessment, operational procedures, and day-to-day enforcement of safety issues.  In addition, those employees that do not operate lift trucks are rarely trained on dock safety issues even though they share many of the same risks as the lift truck operators.

The biggest reason to put a priority on dock safety is not so much related to the frequency of accidents in dock areas as it is to the potential severity of injuries that can occur in these types of accidents.  Injuries sustained when lift trucks tip over or fall from docks, or those that occur when pedestrians are impacted by a lift truck, falling load, or tractor-trailer, tend to be very serious and sometimes fatal.  Prevention of these types of accidents can be achieved through proper equipment, proper training, and enforcement of safe operating procedures.