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