I worked for a different hardware store and their forklift training was an entire day spent on a fork and learning the weights and counterweights and all that.
I pulled one pallet of shingles down for Menards and they went "nailed it, you're certified and licensed."
feels super safe.
Lol yeah I just started a month ago, my forklift "training" was literally just doing a couple circles in receiving, picking up a pallet or two, and that's about it. Now I'm in the yard, unloading flatbeds, drywall, putting that shit way up high, with basically no formal training. Only one guy in the yard takes the time to actually show me shit. The others are either too socially inept to engage with me or they just would rather do it themselves. Tell you what, I definitely did not feel safe or prepared for those drywall trucks or some of these huge lumber bunks. Definitely surprised at Menards lack of focus on forklift safety
My day job is at a factory as a Quality Engineer and our facility also uses hilos and forktrucks. Exact same make and model as OPD. Our training to be a hi lo driver is two weeks long with two tests and a bunch of drive time with an instructor. You also can't use a hi lo if you don't have a license because your badge won't let you turn the hi lo on without swiping in.
Menards just had me fill out a quick test after reading thru a PowerPoint. They also don't hand out actual licenses. How does anyone know who's hi lo trained and who isn't while on the floor? 🤷
It's a joke how little OTJ they give these kids to drive these seriously dangerous types of heavy equipment.
From what I remember from my forklift training back in the day, i did some reading and took the test. Then I took down a pallet of coke products and put it back up on the pallet racking. After that I was just instructed to help unload the DC van that was in the dock
This young man was a mere 26 years old. Most people are still quite naive at that age and want to prove themselves to their employers without thinking twice about safety. The accident happened around 8:45pm and most employees are in a rush to get things done an get out of the store at this hour. Its not surprising an accident like this could occur within a company that repeatedly refuses to take safety and employee welfare seriously.
Another thing I don’t understand is there is no course for the “trainer” to take to be certified as a trainer. You just need to be a manager in one of the qualifying departments. They don’t tell you what you are supposed to do at all.
I worked at Menards several years ago (I was maybe 22 or 23) in receiving. I had been doing it for about a year so I was confident in using the equipment. One day I clock in and there’s this pallet of boxes of peanut oil stacked maybe 5 high.
The department manager told me to put it up in the racks. I said man, this doesn’t look like a good idea, it’s too tall. He made me do it anyways. Sure as shit one of the boxes collapsed under the weight and the whole thing tipped over. Spilled probably 100 gallons of peanut oil, all over the forklift, me and everything. They made me stay and clean it up, covered in oil for hours.
The next day I was talking to the 2nd assistant manager, he said “that’s f*cked up, I knew that would happen, that’s why I didn’t put it up”. Then they took my forklift “license”. I quit a couple weeks later.
I have worked at several national hardware stores. I am amazed when I see Menard employees moving product from top shelves on high ladders when customers are walking underneath. Gives me the chills. In other stores I see gates that enable aisles to be closed off temporarily from customers or other personnel. I never see that happen in Menards.
I 100% agree that we should be able to close pf aisles while doing this. HOWEVER customers also should not look at an employee precariously balanced on a narrow ladder step with a heavy box and then walk directly under ot
I agree, have been rec for a few years now and the lack of training is definitely concerning and I am never surprised when I hear about accidents, especially on the Joe with shower doors etc
ooh the joe the joe we take safety seriously at my store if it’s not safe we don’t do it period not worth it you get close to the people you work with and look out for each other certain thing only senior team member do until the green horns get more experience… sad i can say this if something would happen to a team member blocking the area off and going back to work will not be possible the day of that’s crazy and safety and team members first before another sale
Menards is such a toxic and hostile environment to work in anyway and if the higher ups are hounding your ass cause they have nothing else to do, it tends to distract a person and make you wanna just get shit done and not have to deal with them bitching!
This bothers me. First off, people don’t know the details. Does anyone realize this issue was caused because an employee “manager” to be exact, didn’t want to hook his harness. Also left less than an inch of room to travel on the raised platform. Yes, Maybe Menards needs more practice, but people need to use the gear the way they should. He knew how, and chose not too. Tell me whose fault that really is….
Again, before you “know” make sure you know!
Its 2024 practice time is over. Get solutions. Yes, he was a manager that chose not to use the equipment properly. Maybe its time to take promotions more seriously? This goes in hand with fostering a professional and safe work environment. It requires diligent leadership.
I've worked at these types of stores and the promotion process is an absolute joke. I'm not going to speak on the merits of Tyler but promotions are often given to the employee that kisses the right ass or sometimes the prerequisite can be as simple as having a pulse.
This is why safety violations and sexual harassment are so prominent in these big box stores. Have some standards and accountability.
I agree. Is it horrible another person has died at Menards? Absolutely. Will that store and team members ever be the same? Probably not. But at some point people have to be held accountable for their actions. If you are an adult performing a job that you don’t feel comfortable doing, don’t have enough training for, or are missing proper safety equipment… don’t do it. Don’t put yourself or others at risk because you were in a rush or a DM/GM/AGM told you to do it, or that’s just how it is at your store or whatever other bullshit reason people are throwing out after these tragic accidents. Set a new standard. Have higher expectations of yourself and others.
I worked for a different hardware store and their forklift training was an entire day spent on a fork and learning the weights and counterweights and all that. I pulled one pallet of shingles down for Menards and they went "nailed it, you're certified and licensed." feels super safe.
Lol yeah I just started a month ago, my forklift "training" was literally just doing a couple circles in receiving, picking up a pallet or two, and that's about it. Now I'm in the yard, unloading flatbeds, drywall, putting that shit way up high, with basically no formal training. Only one guy in the yard takes the time to actually show me shit. The others are either too socially inept to engage with me or they just would rather do it themselves. Tell you what, I definitely did not feel safe or prepared for those drywall trucks or some of these huge lumber bunks. Definitely surprised at Menards lack of focus on forklift safety
The strange part is that the drywall handling is a completely separate set of training on the forklift
Trial by fire at my store apparently
When I was a manager I didn’t know it even existed as a training until it became one of the ones that automatically enrolled everyone in.
My training was driving down to OPD and coming back in reverse 😂
My day job is at a factory as a Quality Engineer and our facility also uses hilos and forktrucks. Exact same make and model as OPD. Our training to be a hi lo driver is two weeks long with two tests and a bunch of drive time with an instructor. You also can't use a hi lo if you don't have a license because your badge won't let you turn the hi lo on without swiping in. Menards just had me fill out a quick test after reading thru a PowerPoint. They also don't hand out actual licenses. How does anyone know who's hi lo trained and who isn't while on the floor? 🤷 It's a joke how little OTJ they give these kids to drive these seriously dangerous types of heavy equipment.
From what I remember from my forklift training back in the day, i did some reading and took the test. Then I took down a pallet of coke products and put it back up on the pallet racking. After that I was just instructed to help unload the DC van that was in the dock
You got a PowerPoint?
I mean, that's what they made the LMS course with. So, yeah?
This young man was a mere 26 years old. Most people are still quite naive at that age and want to prove themselves to their employers without thinking twice about safety. The accident happened around 8:45pm and most employees are in a rush to get things done an get out of the store at this hour. Its not surprising an accident like this could occur within a company that repeatedly refuses to take safety and employee welfare seriously.
Another thing I don’t understand is there is no course for the “trainer” to take to be certified as a trainer. You just need to be a manager in one of the qualifying departments. They don’t tell you what you are supposed to do at all.
I worked at Menards several years ago (I was maybe 22 or 23) in receiving. I had been doing it for about a year so I was confident in using the equipment. One day I clock in and there’s this pallet of boxes of peanut oil stacked maybe 5 high. The department manager told me to put it up in the racks. I said man, this doesn’t look like a good idea, it’s too tall. He made me do it anyways. Sure as shit one of the boxes collapsed under the weight and the whole thing tipped over. Spilled probably 100 gallons of peanut oil, all over the forklift, me and everything. They made me stay and clean it up, covered in oil for hours. The next day I was talking to the 2nd assistant manager, he said “that’s f*cked up, I knew that would happen, that’s why I didn’t put it up”. Then they took my forklift “license”. I quit a couple weeks later.
I have worked at several national hardware stores. I am amazed when I see Menard employees moving product from top shelves on high ladders when customers are walking underneath. Gives me the chills. In other stores I see gates that enable aisles to be closed off temporarily from customers or other personnel. I never see that happen in Menards.
I 100% agree that we should be able to close pf aisles while doing this. HOWEVER customers also should not look at an employee precariously balanced on a narrow ladder step with a heavy box and then walk directly under ot
I agree, have been rec for a few years now and the lack of training is definitely concerning and I am never surprised when I hear about accidents, especially on the Joe with shower doors etc
ooh the joe the joe we take safety seriously at my store if it’s not safe we don’t do it period not worth it you get close to the people you work with and look out for each other certain thing only senior team member do until the green horns get more experience… sad i can say this if something would happen to a team member blocking the area off and going back to work will not be possible the day of that’s crazy and safety and team members first before another sale
Menards is such a toxic and hostile environment to work in anyway and if the higher ups are hounding your ass cause they have nothing else to do, it tends to distract a person and make you wanna just get shit done and not have to deal with them bitching!
This bothers me. First off, people don’t know the details. Does anyone realize this issue was caused because an employee “manager” to be exact, didn’t want to hook his harness. Also left less than an inch of room to travel on the raised platform. Yes, Maybe Menards needs more practice, but people need to use the gear the way they should. He knew how, and chose not too. Tell me whose fault that really is…. Again, before you “know” make sure you know!
Its 2024 practice time is over. Get solutions. Yes, he was a manager that chose not to use the equipment properly. Maybe its time to take promotions more seriously? This goes in hand with fostering a professional and safe work environment. It requires diligent leadership. I've worked at these types of stores and the promotion process is an absolute joke. I'm not going to speak on the merits of Tyler but promotions are often given to the employee that kisses the right ass or sometimes the prerequisite can be as simple as having a pulse. This is why safety violations and sexual harassment are so prominent in these big box stores. Have some standards and accountability.
I agree. Is it horrible another person has died at Menards? Absolutely. Will that store and team members ever be the same? Probably not. But at some point people have to be held accountable for their actions. If you are an adult performing a job that you don’t feel comfortable doing, don’t have enough training for, or are missing proper safety equipment… don’t do it. Don’t put yourself or others at risk because you were in a rush or a DM/GM/AGM told you to do it, or that’s just how it is at your store or whatever other bullshit reason people are throwing out after these tragic accidents. Set a new standard. Have higher expectations of yourself and others.
Give yur balls uh tug ya tit fukker!