“You’ve proven in training you can manage a forklift”
December 20, 2020 3:53 PM Subscribe
Staplerfahrer Klaus – Der Erste Arbeitstag (Forklift Driver Klaus - The First Day On The Job) is a short German homage to workplace safety videos from 2000 directed by Jörg Wagner and Stefan Prehn.
(Previously, in 2004 but the link is dead. Also previously in 2008, but the link is dead and that’s really about something else.)
Wagner’s second film, Motodrom is a short documentary about “hellriders”: stuntmen who drive antique motorcycles around the walls of circular towers.
(Previously, in 2004 but the link is dead. Also previously in 2008, but the link is dead and that’s really about something else.)
Wagner’s second film, Motodrom is a short documentary about “hellriders”: stuntmen who drive antique motorcycles around the walls of circular towers.
Funny coincidence, you posting this film today. Just this morning I was in the Walmart parking garage when a hot shot forklift driver whipped by me. Having already seen this film, I immediately had a vision of myself impaled on the tines of the truck's fork. Once you see this video, you never EVER forget it. But I guess that's the point!
posted by Transl3y at 4:25 PM on December 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Transl3y at 4:25 PM on December 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
I spent two summers operating a forklift in an warehouse for HVAC equipment in New Jersey when I was 19 and 20. My training took about five minutes. "Here's the key to start it. Here's the gas, brake and clutch. Here's the lift and the tilt. Try not to hit anything with it".
posted by octothorpe at 4:34 PM on December 20, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 4:34 PM on December 20, 2020 [5 favorites]
This has been around for many years but always a good day when it pops up. My favorite part is the repair guy who loses his hands when our hapless protagonist starts the engine while maintenance is being performed who is then seen later slowly sorting screws with his 2 hook hands.
posted by signsofrain at 6:45 PM on December 20, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by signsofrain at 6:45 PM on December 20, 2020 [5 favorites]
Motodrom is a short documentary about "hellriders": stuntmen who drive antique motorcycles around the walls of circular towers
...without helmets. Excellent, thanks!
posted by Rash at 7:12 PM on December 20, 2020
...without helmets. Excellent, thanks!
posted by Rash at 7:12 PM on December 20, 2020
I spent two summers operating a forklift in an warehouse for HVAC equipment in New Jersey when I was 19 and 20. My training took about five minutes. "Here's the key to start it. Here's the gas, brake and clutch. Here's the lift and the tilt. Try not to hit anything with it".
Heh. At the same age, octothorpe, I was driving a crane. I had more training than that, but not much. I ended up doing it for several summers, and ultimately being hired back by the company after I left to train others.
I wonder if I should have told them that I didn't have a license to drive a car.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:36 PM on December 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
Heh. At the same age, octothorpe, I was driving a crane. I had more training than that, but not much. I ended up doing it for several summers, and ultimately being hired back by the company after I left to train others.
I wonder if I should have told them that I didn't have a license to drive a car.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:36 PM on December 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
My brother worked in a warehouse. One day the owner told him and another guy to use a circular saw to cut new treads into the forklift's worn-out tires.
You know, one guy holds the tire and the other guy cuts.
*boggle*
posted by wenestvedt at 7:52 PM on December 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
You know, one guy holds the tire and the other guy cuts.
*boggle*
posted by wenestvedt at 7:52 PM on December 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
A friend posted this on my facebook wall a few years back when I posted about being taught how to operate a stand up forklift in my previous job.
When I was officially trained once again in my current job last year on operating a standup forklift, we spent the last hour of work watching forklift training videos on Youtube and I got the trainer to play this, resulting in much laughter and surprise from the small group of trainers and trainees.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 10:23 PM on December 20, 2020 [6 favorites]
When I was officially trained once again in my current job last year on operating a standup forklift, we spent the last hour of work watching forklift training videos on Youtube and I got the trainer to play this, resulting in much laughter and surprise from the small group of trainers and trainees.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 10:23 PM on December 20, 2020 [6 favorites]
People who don't speak German making jokes about German... that's just the Wurst.
The previous joke is a good example. It doesn't work if you pronounce Wurst the correct way. The German 'u' sound is similar to the English 'oo', not 'uh'.
posted by Too-Ticky at 4:04 AM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
The previous joke is a good example. It doesn't work if you pronounce Wurst the correct way. The German 'u' sound is similar to the English 'oo', not 'uh'.
posted by Too-Ticky at 4:04 AM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
One of the best parts for (old) Germans is that the voice over is quite familiar from a long-running series of road safety clips, our very own Richard Attenborough of moving violations. Those episodes often had a similar tone and showed near-collisions (The "women in traffic" episodes are extremely cringy.). Klaus just exaggerated that a bit. Well, maybe more than a bit…
posted by pseudocode at 4:36 AM on December 21, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by pseudocode at 4:36 AM on December 21, 2020 [6 favorites]
People who don't speak German making jokes about German... that's just the Wurst.
The previous joke is a good example. It doesn't work if you pronounce Wurst the correct way. The German 'u' sound is similar to the English 'oo', not 'uh'.
I've seen German comedians make the Wurst/worst joke. Here's the heute show doing it just a month ago with "Wurst-Case Szenario" (starting about 10 seconds into the video).
posted by jedicus at 7:09 AM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
The previous joke is a good example. It doesn't work if you pronounce Wurst the correct way. The German 'u' sound is similar to the English 'oo', not 'uh'.
I've seen German comedians make the Wurst/worst joke. Here's the heute show doing it just a month ago with "Wurst-Case Szenario" (starting about 10 seconds into the video).
posted by jedicus at 7:09 AM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
Apropos of nothing, my (american) mother once gave my (german) father a mug for christmas: "An angry german is a sour kraut".
I give them credit for hanging on as long as they did, haha
posted by Seeba at 10:44 AM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
I give them credit for hanging on as long as they did, haha
posted by Seeba at 10:44 AM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Seen once on a truck on a California freeway:
“[business name] - Not Just a Forklift Dealer!”
This has haunted me.
posted by atoxyl at 1:34 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
“[business name] - Not Just a Forklift Dealer!”
This has haunted me.
posted by atoxyl at 1:34 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
I've seen German comedians make the Wurst/worst joke. Here's the heute show doing it just a month ago with "Wurst-Case Szenario" (starting about 10 seconds into the video).
I prefer a Wurst-Käse Szenario. That way, there's also something for the vegetarians.
posted by Too-Ticky at 2:48 PM on December 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
I prefer a Wurst-Käse Szenario. That way, there's also something for the vegetarians.
posted by Too-Ticky at 2:48 PM on December 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
I sent this along this to my 13-yr old who’s learning German as a pandemic hobby while patiently going stir crazy. For some reason I think he’ll get a kick out of it.
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 2:51 PM on December 22, 2020
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 2:51 PM on December 22, 2020
Oh god I remember seeing this video years ago. It just keeps getting more awesome.
posted by rmd1023 at 5:50 PM on December 22, 2020
posted by rmd1023 at 5:50 PM on December 22, 2020
I spent two summers operating a forklift in an warehouse for HVAC equipment in New Jersey when I was 19 and 20.
One summer I had a job packaging titaniumdioxide, an inert white powder used in paint and medicines. The stuff came off the production line into a bunker, from which we had to fill 25kg (~55lb) bags. 40 bags to a pallet, which was then moved away and put on a conveyor belt to be wrapped. Average 15 pallets to a shift. This meant that at the end of your shift you were blowing white snot into your handkerchief, and at the end of the summer you were ready to wrestle Sylvester Stallone. Operating the forklift was usually done by some permanent employee, but they were often not available during night shifts. So, a brief instruction by a fellow temp the first time I had to move my pallet away myself ...
I never had a mishap, but a co-worker snagged a corner of a full bigbag on some machinery, causing 1500kg of TiO2 to spill right in the passage from the filling area to the wrapping conveyor. That blockage nearly caused the bunkers to reach their max, which would have halted the production line.
posted by Stoneshop at 6:23 AM on December 25, 2020
One summer I had a job packaging titaniumdioxide, an inert white powder used in paint and medicines. The stuff came off the production line into a bunker, from which we had to fill 25kg (~55lb) bags. 40 bags to a pallet, which was then moved away and put on a conveyor belt to be wrapped. Average 15 pallets to a shift. This meant that at the end of your shift you were blowing white snot into your handkerchief, and at the end of the summer you were ready to wrestle Sylvester Stallone. Operating the forklift was usually done by some permanent employee, but they were often not available during night shifts. So, a brief instruction by a fellow temp the first time I had to move my pallet away myself ...
I never had a mishap, but a co-worker snagged a corner of a full bigbag on some machinery, causing 1500kg of TiO2 to spill right in the passage from the filling area to the wrapping conveyor. That blockage nearly caused the bunkers to reach their max, which would have halted the production line.
posted by Stoneshop at 6:23 AM on December 25, 2020
I had more training than that, but not much.
Some 15 years back Too-Ticky got commissioned to paint four large murals in one of the Amsterdam boroughs. This required renting a mobile scissor lift that could reach 10m, and when it got delivered the transport driver asked me if I'd used one of these before?
Um, no.
"Okay, you start it, here you select to set down the supports and level the unit, if they're up and retracted you can switch to 'drive' and with the joystick you control speed and direction*, then when you've positioned and levelled you change from 'drive' to 'platform' to move up or down, again with the joystick. Clear? Good, have a nice day."
And then we had to drive a couple 100m from where it was unloaded to the first facade to be painted. Including crossing a side road. With a 5 ton machine moving at walking pace. Fortunately there were two policemen having just finished issuing a ticket to some overly hasty driver, and who cleared the crossing while I tried not to show that these were the first meters driving a scissor lift ever. On a public road.
* with a car, if you let go of the steering wheel when in a turn the steering centers itself and you return to driving more or less straight on. With that joystick it would have kept going in circles until you commanded the steering to do something different, and you actually had to find 'straight ahead'.
posted by Stoneshop at 7:05 AM on December 25, 2020
Some 15 years back Too-Ticky got commissioned to paint four large murals in one of the Amsterdam boroughs. This required renting a mobile scissor lift that could reach 10m, and when it got delivered the transport driver asked me if I'd used one of these before?
Um, no.
"Okay, you start it, here you select to set down the supports and level the unit, if they're up and retracted you can switch to 'drive' and with the joystick you control speed and direction*, then when you've positioned and levelled you change from 'drive' to 'platform' to move up or down, again with the joystick. Clear? Good, have a nice day."
And then we had to drive a couple 100m from where it was unloaded to the first facade to be painted. Including crossing a side road. With a 5 ton machine moving at walking pace. Fortunately there were two policemen having just finished issuing a ticket to some overly hasty driver, and who cleared the crossing while I tried not to show that these were the first meters driving a scissor lift ever. On a public road.
* with a car, if you let go of the steering wheel when in a turn the steering centers itself and you return to driving more or less straight on. With that joystick it would have kept going in circles until you commanded the steering to do something different, and you actually had to find 'straight ahead'.
posted by Stoneshop at 7:05 AM on December 25, 2020
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posted by Huffy Puffy at 4:13 PM on December 20, 2020 [10 favorites]