How to Develop a Guide to Forklift Operator Training

Forklifts are a piece of heavy equipment used in many different situations. They are used in factories, lumber yards, warehouses, storage facilities and many other locations. If you need to pick up an object and aren’t sure how; a forklift works by picking up heavy objects (including those that are on pallets) and move them to a different location. Forklifts are an indispensible machine when moving things that are just too heavy for people to pick up. Forklifts are also used to put objects in high, hard to reach places.

A forklift can be a dangerous machine if not operated properly.  Operation of a forklift will require employees to have instruction on how to drive a forklift.  A thorough guide to forklift operator training will aid a company in the training of operators. For safety purposes every company should have one.

 Some information to include in a guide to forklift operator training are:

-          Make sure the forklift is turned on and is in working condition.

-          Check the battery (if electric) or check to see how much fuel there is in the tank.

-          Test the machine out and get a good feel for how it works and maneuvers prior to operating.

-          Check to see how fast the forks move up and down, so that you don’t damage anything when trying to pick up objects.

-          When you start to pick up objects to move; it is a good idea to start with an empty pallet and practice picking it up, setting it down and moving it around.

-          Since most forklifts steer from the rear it is a good idea to test drive one in an empty, open area with no people and no objects around in order to understand how they turn.

A guide to forklift operator training can be purchased online or a company can use a purchased one to write their own guide to forklift operator training.

Other items to include in instruction on how to drive a forklift are:After checking the gas and making sure everything is in working condition, turn on the machine, then check to make sure you know where the controls for the gears and forks are.

Most forklifts have a gear shift handle on the steering column with three gears, up is forward, center is neutral, and down is reverse. Normally, on the right hand side of the seat there should be three control arms, one to adjust the forks up and down, one to adjust the forks side to side, and one to adjust the slant of the forks. If employees are not familiar with driving a forklift it is usually best to start out slow in an uncluttered area, with no one around.  Make sure there is someone around that knows how to operate a forklift to monitor any hands on training.A few more instructions on how to drive a forklift that are important to include in a guide to forklift training are:

-          Make sure employees are completely comfortable when driving a forklift, being nervous while driving could result in increased numbers of injury.

-          Always make sure employees check the safety features on the lift.

-          Drive slowly when teaching and answering employees questions on “how does a forklift work”.  The more information you arm employees with; the more confident (and accident free) they may become.

Remember the best way to learn how to operate a forklift is to take a class with experienced forklift drivers.  A well written guide to forklift operator training will enable the knowledgeable driver to teach the novice instructions on how to drive a forklift safely.