ITA: 9th-annual National Forklift Safety Day, first hybrid event a success

The ninth annual National Forklift Safety Day, which took place in-person as well as virtually on June 14, 2022, was a success, according to the Industrial Truck Association (ITA), which organizes the event.

Open to the public, National Forklift Safety Day attracted over 800 online registrations and approximately 50 in-person attendees. “Safety is paramount to the industry and we are very pleased to see so many representatives from the end user community including the private sector, government officials and the material handling industry,” said Brian Feehan, ITA president.

The in-person event was held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. National Forklift Safety Day serves as an opportunity for forklift manufacturers and the industry to highlight the safe use of forklifts, the value of operator training, and the need for daily equipment checks.

The format for 2022 followed previous events with presentations from government representatives, safety experts and industry representatives. The speakers for National Forklift Safety Day 2022 included:

• Chuck Pascarelli, President, Americas, Hyster-Yale Group (Chairman, ITA Board of Directors)
• Douglas Parker, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA)
• Jonathan Dawley, President & CEO, KION North America, (NFSD Chair 2022)
• Lorne Weeter, Vice President of Sales, Mobile Automation, Dematic
• Brian Duffy, Director of Corporate Environmental and Manufacturing Safety, Crown Equipment Corporation

“National Forklift Safety Day has become a prominent event in the industry to promote the need for effective forklift operator training,” said Jonathan Dawley, President and CEO of KION North America. “Having a hybrid event has helped us reach an increased population of over 22% versus last year. We expect this approach to have an impact on attendance growth in future years.”

The recording of National Forklift Safety Day 2022 will be available on the ITA website here.

For more than 70 years, the ITA has been the leading organization of industrial truck manufacturers and suppliers of component parts and accessories that conduct business in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Based in Washington, D.C., ITA maintains an influential voice in international standards development for the industry. The organization also advances engineering practices to promote safe products, disseminates statistical marketplace information, and provides industry forums for learning and networking.