Counterbalance forklift Training
The OSHA or Occupational Safety and Health Administration require that anybody utilizing a counterbalanced lift truck be given classroom or lecture style training. They also require that a periodic refresher training in addition to a supervised driving program is finished. There is no required minimum time for the classroom training or supervised driving. Moreover, there is no frequency mandated for the refresher training either.
Counterbalanced Forklifts
A counterbalanced lift truck balances its cargo utilizing the truck's weight. The forks on a lift truck are in a fixed position; they go down and up and do not pivot. The forks run parallel to the body of the forklift. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration require that drivers who will be operating counterbalanced forklifts on the job be trained on the trucks while being in the environment which they would be using them.
Classroom Training
Classroom training or lecture style training provides information about the truck that the operator would be driving. This training covers aspects like load and weight capacity, height, how to fuel or charge the forklift. It includes how to gauge the time on the engine as well as any forklift specific safety information like for instance where to stand when walking around the truck. Either written and/or oral testing is part of the classroom training. There is no minimum time requirement for the training.
Supervised Driving
The operator of a forklift will need to learn to operate the equipment while being supervised. The supervised driving has to take place in an environment that resembles the current environment that the driver works in. This atmosphere should include the type of terrain she will be traveling on, have the same surrounding structures nearby, and similar pedestrian and vehicle traffic nearby too. There is no required minimum number of hours the driver needs to drive while being supervised.