- The first step to being trained to operate a forklift is to learn about the rider-operated lift truck a person will be driving. Classroom or lecture style training includes information about the specific type of lift truck being operated, including instructions for refueling in the case of an internal combustion engine lift truck or changing the battery for an electric motor truck. There is no minimum time requirement, but classroom training may include written and oral examinations.
- A lift truck operator must next learn to drive the rider-operated lift truck she will drive in the workplace, in an environment roughly equivalent to the environment in which she will be driving. This includes the terrain, any surrounding structures, including buildings, posts or shelving, and any nearby pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
- OSHA requires that lift truck operators receive periodic refresher training after they are initially certified. The agency does not dictate the frequency with which the operator must be re-trained, nor does it specify the content of the training, but if the driver regularly operates a lift truck in the workplace, the training is likely to consist more of classroom style information.
- Because workplace environments are all different and rider-operator lift truck models can vary, the operator must receive new training if he moves to a new workplace. Because the operator will have retained the knowledge he gained the first time he was trained, the training may pass more quickly, but he must be trained to operate the new lift truck in the new work environment.
- An operator driving a Class VI (tow tractor) or Class VII (rough terrain) rider-operator lift truck in an agricultural setting does not need to receive OSHA-standard training. If she is driving these forklifts in another setting, such as an industrial, construction or logging setting, she does need to receive proper operator training.
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