Lift truck Truck Training Program
To receive certification as a lift truck driver, you must undergo training on an industrial-powered lift truck, or forklift. The training course should be specific to the lift truck attachments and type that you will be utilizing on the job location. Training must also reflect the setting in which you would be working. Lift truck safety should be a main concern for both the trainer and the operator trainee.
General Qualifications
Before assuming any operator duties, all lift truck drivers should undergo both training and certification. Basic credentials for driving a lift truck include being at least eighteen years old and the physical capacity to operate and control the unit safely.
Pedestrian Safety
The safety of pedestrians must be a top concern of any lift truck driver. Pedestrians near the forklift are at risk of death or injury from getting hit by the equipment or its additions. Pedestrians must always have the right of way, and forklift operators must honk their horns when working at intersections or crosswalks or near pedestrians.
Weather Conditions
Numerous mishaps involving lift trucks take place at loading docks. These places become dangerous if rain leaks in through open dock doors making the floor very slippery. Wet floor conditions create a hazard and drivers must know possible dangers when working in loading dock areas.
Certification
Certification courses for lift truck drivers include both classroom instruction and practical training which can be tailored for the particular needs of each work setting. Training should be undertaken on the kind of forklift and attachments which would be utilized by the trainee in the workplace.
Mishaps
Each year roughly 100 people die in forklift mishaps. There are 100,000 forklift injuries reported each year. Most of these accidents could be avoided with proper operator training and attention to safety.