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