How an OSHA-Certified Safety Training Company Grew from 3,000 to 15,000 Customers

Below you can follow along with a conversation we had with Art Merino, CEO and Founder of Forklift Academy.

The Need for a Scalable Learning Management Platform

Art started Forklift Academy 12 years ago, with a rudimentary online system that he created himself. After outgrowing that DIY learning management system, he switched to a cloud-based LMS provider. However, the new LMS didn't have a great learner experience, and Forklift’s customers were often getting confused when trying to complete courses.

Forklift Academy’s primary customers are companies that require OSHA-regulated safety training. According to a 2019 study done by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average rate of recorded injuries in the warehousing industry was 4.8 for every 100 full-time workers. Since there are so many manufacturing companies and other companies that operate out of warehouses, all of whom need regular safety training, Forklift Academy is in high demand. With such a high volume of customers, Art was looking for a new LMS provider ASAP.

“I was looking for a learning management system solution. When I started by myself, I created a very small and very rudimentary system. Then, I started looking for something more scalable and sustainable...I tried another company, but I didn't like it. Then, I chose Academy of Mine because it did what I was looking for.” - Art Merino.

Forklift Academy’s Turning Point

With their last LMS, Art and his team were struggling to manage the online training as more customers began rolling in. That’s when Forklift Academy realized they needed to find a more sustainable solution that could grow with them.

“Once the number of people using my system started getting bigger, it started getting out of control. Like, okay, now this is the point where I need to get something that's more scalable, more manageable. That's when I jumped ship.” - Art M.

They wanted an all-in-one solution that they could use to create & bundle training materials into courses, sell them, and manage everything online. Art also wanted to make sure his new solution was flexible and could be customized to his customers’ needs, while also being easy to use out of the box.

Eliminating Bottlenecks with Academy of Mine

After deciding they needed a new learning management system (LMS), Forklift Academy went to Google for answers. A few software demos later, Art decided that Academy of Mine was the best fit out of the LMS providers they'd spoken to. One thing Forklift Academy liked about our software is that it’s customizable.

With Academy of Mine, users can customize the platform using built-in options, custom styling, HTML modules, and more. However, if a client has more complex needs and requires new integrations and/or feature changes, we also offer LMS customization services.

In Art's case, he shared that Academy of Mine had 90% of the features they needed, and our developers were able to meet their remaining needs with custom developments.

Scaling a Safety Training Business with an LMS

When Forklift Academy started using our platform, they had about 3,000 annual customers, and now they have 15,000 annual customers. Using Academy of Mine has significantly improved their ability to train customers with user-friendly courses and manage that training at scale.

Art already knew that expanding their online training was essential for scaling the business. However, what he didn't necessarily expect was that the right LMS would also save time and resources, making it even easier to focus on growing revenue. After Forklift Academy began using our platform, they realized its user interface and accessibility made it much more efficient to create, deliver, and administer courses. And in the rare situation that Art’s team can't figure something out on their own, they can raise a customer support ticket and our tech team will quickly jump in.

While chatting with Art, here’s what he said Academy of Mine is helping him accomplish:

“I think the growth was the most important to me. They are helping with sustainable growth. I started with 3,000 or 4,000 users. Now, it's like five times that. So yeah, business is growing and growing!” - Art M.

The Impact of a User-Friendly LMS on Art’s Business

Customers taking courses from Forklift Academy are required by OSHA to maintain those certifications year after year. Because of that, their new LMS needed to be user-friendly and make it easy to maintain certifications. That user-friendliness also needed to apply to their tech team in charge of maintaining and updating programs.

When we asked Art what the number one thing he’s able to accomplish with Academy of Mine is, he talked about accessibility and being able to maintain training at scale.

“I think the accessibility, easy access to the functionality of the system. I have my whole team that uses the system, left and right, all day long. That feels good because in the past we couldn't do that. And I think this is because it's scalable. I've got my team, my customer service team using the system day in, day out, all day long. And that is kind of the bread and butter of my online training.” - Art M.

Forklift Academy’s Outcomes

Before Academy of Mine, Forklift Academy had lackluster LMS experiences, with software that couldn't keep up with their growing business. Today, they've had so much success with Academy of Mine that they opened up two accounts with us — one specifically for forklift training and one for scissor lift training. Their annual customer base has tripled, and the team is empowered to work more efficiently. Our user-friendly software, reliable customer support, and custom development services have been key to helping Forklift Academy effectively scale.

Ready to improve your safety and compliance programs? Discover how Academy of Mine can help!