A Forklift Rally is a skills competition for forklift operators who work in or around the materials handling, construction and distribution & logistics industry. Participants come together to compete in a two-stage process:
Stage 1 – The Written Knowledge Test
All competitors are required to complete a multiple choice test. Overall placement within the Rally is based on calculations made that include the test scores (written & driving course) and the elapsed time recorded on the driving course.
Companies have differing policies on forklift operation so in order to make the Rally as fair as possible we use one standard. The reference material used in the creation of the knowledge test is drawn from Part 16 of the WorkSafeBC Occupational Health & Safety Regulation.
Stage 2 – The Precision Driving Course
Competitors maneuver through a course designed to test their skill and dexterity in handling the forklift safely. The course requires each competitor to navigate through while registering the fewest demerit points and the lowest elapsed time. Demerit points are issued by course judges for observed items such hitting pylons/cones, improper load handling techniques, not checking rear clearance before reversing and many others. In addition, there are a number of occurrences that can result in disqualification such as operating in such a way as to cause a wheel to leave the ground or a load to drop.
In the real world, forklifts generally operate in environments designed to accommodate them whereas at the Forklift Rally, the tolerances of the course are adjusted to create a more challenging competition which means that instead of the 10-ft. aisles typically found in a warehouse, competitors maneuver through pylons and drums only a few inches wider than the forklift they are operating. They are also timed through the course so that at the end of the event, we acknowledge the top operators as those who are not only the safest but the most efficient as well.
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