Management of Forklift Operator Training Records

Companies can now manage large lift truck operator communities and their training records more effectively thanks to a new online portal from UK startup Syndesi Systems. With launch pricing starting at just £12 per user, businesses with two or more sites and more than 250 lift truck operators can easily see what, where, and how each operator has been trained companywide.

“Surprisingly, large organisations often rely on paper and filing cabinets or spreadsheets when managing their lift truck operator training, which is time consuming and can easily lead to non-compliance,” says Alex Samson (pictured), Chief Information Officer of Syndesi Systems, which officially launched in May 2024. “We have created a user-friendly system that provides instant visibility of the training status of an entire lift truck operator community over multiple sites, including automated Quality Assurance (QA) checks.”

Syndesi digitalises the storage of materials handling equipment (MHE) operator training records from the moment they are trained and throughout their employment. It brings significant benefits to businesses with hundreds or thousands of lift truck operators, harnessing the power of data to give the bigger picture on all MHE resources in one location.

“We enable HR, operations, training, and management teams to save time and money, reduce risk, and improve MHE resource planning,” Samson says. “Syndesi helps reveal where training gaps exist and can demonstrate site compliance instantly when it’s needed most.”

The system has already been piloted successfully at one of the UK’s largest logistics operators that has over 15,000 operators. Syndesi Systems has made the process easy for instructors and teams to use the system, reducing paperwork and time, helping to improve business efficiency, increasing capacity and supporting overall sustainability efforts.

“With Syndesi, Instructors could save about four hours of paperwork time for every five-day lift truck training course they run,” explains Samson. “There would be no test marking to do, no scanning, filing, or adding details to a central matrix or Learning Management System (LMS). An instructor can therefore use their valuable expertise to deliver training, instead of doing paperwork.”

A PDF Training record is uploaded via the Syndesi Link app at the click of a button, so it doesn’t matter if an operator was trained by an internal instructor or external training provider. With everything in one place and configurable quality assurance checks, Syndesi ensures accuracy and quality of record keeping when coming from many different sources. The data is then available in the dashboard for easy analysis. By logging in, users can instantly see whether an operator has ‘Authorisation to Operate’ or if Basic, Familiarisation, or Specific Job training has been completed. Gaps can be identified instantly which also supports decision making about refresher and conversion training.

“Managers not only get a complete picture of an individual operator, but they will also see the status of a site’s operator community, or of the entire business,” Samson says. “This is a powerful tool, particularly when planning seasonal peaks or filling resource gaps with operators who have the correct level of training for the equipment.”

The system can also link with HR systems and training systems and associate any damages or issues with personal circumstances or health problems with an individual, for example. This data helps improve safety through identifying trends and reasons for certain behaviours so that companies can tailor remedial and preventative measures to the individual.

“There would be no more hunting in filing cabinets, particularly after an incident. This one system connects HR, site managers, COOs, QSHE Managers and Instructors group wide,” says Samson. “We’re helping businesses stay compliant, limiting their exposure to liability, fines or legal costs.”

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