Proposal for Instruction
Manual on Lift Truck Safety
Prepared for
The Home Depot
Prepared by
Edwin Ulloa
04/14/2013
Table of Contents
Executive Summary………………………………………………....iii
Introduction to Lift Truck Safety Manuaul………………………….1
Problems for The Home Depot……………………………………...1
Solution to Lift Truck Safety………………………………………..2
Qualifications for Lift Truck Safety Manual Making……………….3
Budget for Lift Truck Safety Manual………………………………..3
Conclusion to Proposal on Lift Truck Safety Manual……………….3
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Executive Summary
This letter is to propose a new Lift Truck Safety Manual for the company. I’m currently
employed as a bilingual sales associate in Department 21. During my computer training, I
was only told to complete the online training assessments, and the online training
assessments for lift truck safety. Along with the online training, I completed the hands-on
training to become certified to drive the lift trucks, but I was never given a hard-copy of
the manual. I asked if we had a hard-copy and was told no. Therefore, I plan to create a
manual because it makes it more efficient for associates to have a paper copy to read
over, and then be tested on it once they’re ready for certification, along with the hands-on
training.
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Introduction to Proposal on Lift Truck Safety
Establishing this manual for the store will have some costs, but they will not be a lot. The only
costs we will need to expect will be the print and binding of the manual, and to have a meeting
with all of the associates seeking certification to present them with the manual. If you approve of
this proposal, I can begin the manual April 15 and have it completed by April 29.
Problems for The Home Depot
The Home Depot has the following problems:
 Online Training Too Long
 No Hardcopy
 Simple Hands-On Training
When The Home Depot associates are new hires we are required to take extensive online
training. Sometimes the training has duration of multiple eight hour shifts. This is a problem
because the associates become stressed due to the large amounts of hours they are required to
take training. For example, the training for the lift trucks is broken down into a course overview,
and then separate lessons for each lift truck. The overview itself lasts about three hours, and the
separate lessons for each lift truck are each about an hour. Being in front of a computer for
extraneous amounts of hours may lead to an employee
Since The Home Depot requires their employees to take the majority of their training online,
they aren’t provided with a hardcopy of a safety manual. Not having a tangible manual is a
disadvantage to the associates because if they ever want to refresh their knowledge on some of
the lift truck safety material, they need to be clocked in to access the training material on the
computers. This means that the material cannot be reviewed in depth. For example, if an
associate wanted to know what the “deadman pedal” does on a certain lift truck, the associate
will need to either be scheduled to work, or request to come in to work to review the material.
Having an employee review their knowledge while clocked in is a waste of payroll, and having
to drive down to work to review their knowledge is an unnecessary waste of time and money for
our employees.
The hands-on training process to drive the lift trucks at The Home Depot is too simple. Once the
employees pass all the online assessments the next step is to do hands-on training on the lift
trucks. The hands-on training consists of simple tasks like identifying the parts on the lift truck,
driving through a set of cones, and bringing down/putting up palletized/un-palletized
merchandise. If the associate can perform those tasks, they are certified to drive the trucks that
were trained on. This is a problem because the associate does not perform any of those tasks
where customers are present. This means that the associates go out on the sales floor driving lift
trucks without knowing how to properly maneuver the truck around customers. This can lead to
lift truck accidents leading to potential injuries to the associate or a customer.
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Solution to Lift Truck Safety
My manual on Lift Truck Safety will help solve the following problems:
 Long Online Training
 No Hardcopy
 Simple Hands-On Training
A hardcopy Lift Truck Safety Manual will be a benefit to The Home Depot because it
will help the company save a lot of money and lives. No longer will the associates have
to sit in front of a computer for long hours taking up company money. Instead they can
read the hardcopy lift truck safety manual, and then test their knowledge with either a
hand written or multiple choice tests. And the hands-on training will consists of more instore training so that The Home Depot can reduce the risks of receiving lawsuits over lift
truck accidents. Having a hardcopy of the Lift Truck Safety Manual will allow for the
company to prepare more safe lift truck drivers.
Outline for Lift Truck Safety Manual
 Lift Truck Safety Course Overview
o Lift Truck Training Overview
o Lift Truck Safety Training Certification
o Lift Truck License
 Visual Safety Inspection
o Conducting a Visual Inspection
o How to Handle and Change a Propane Tank
o How to Properly Charge a Lift Truck Battery
 Know the Vehicle Controls
o Operational Steps by Truck
 Sit-Down Forklift
 Reach Truck
 Order Picker
 Electric Pallet Jack
 Pacer Unit
 Assessment Preparation
 Hands-On Training
o Proper Inspection of Vehicle
o Drive to a Designated Area
o Make a U-turn
o Backing and Reversing
o Loading/Unloading Techniques
o Drive Safely Through Store
o Proper Shut Down of Vehicle
 Certification
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Work Plan for Lift Truck Safety Manual
If you approve of this proposal, I will begin the Lift Truck Safety Manual on April 15,
have the rough draft done by April 22, and have the final draft ready by April 29. The
materials that will be used to make this manual will not be of great expense. The kind of
paper that will be used is 100% Recycled Multipurpose Paper of 8.5x11in size. The
manual will follow the layout of the outline provided above. Binding of will consists of
Fellowes Plastic Comb Binding Spines, Black ¼” Diameter, with a 20 sheet capacity.
Division of each section will be title pages, headings, and subheadings. Graphics for the
manual will simply be software-made diagrams.
Qualifications for Lift Truck Safety Manual Making
I am currently a student at The University of North Texas and am enrolled in a technical
communication class that has prepared me to write manuals like the one I am proposing.
As an employee of The Home Depot, I have seen errors in the training of employees and
know that they can be fixed through the making of a Lift Truck Safety Manual. I am also
a certified safe lift truck driver at The Home Depot and am able to provide feedback on
how to make training and certification of employees more efficient.
Budget for Lift Truck Safety Manual
Paper
Binding
Introduction Meeting
Assessments
Total
100% Recycled Multipurpose
8.5x11in
Fellowes Plastic Comb
Binding Spines ¼” Diameter
2hr Meeting to Introduce
Manual
1hr Assessment before HandsOn Training
$13.29/500 Pack
$14.99/50 Pack
Employee Hourly Income x2
Employee Hourly Income x1
≈ $500.00
Conclusion to Proposal on Lift Truck Safety Manual
Mr. Stacey, I think The Home Depot needs a tangible manual for employees seeking lift
truck certification, and I hope you will agree. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at ulloa_edwin94@yahoo.com, or call me to my cell phone 832-456-8793.
Thank you for taking the time to read this proposal. I look forward to further discussing
this manual with you in depth.
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