How to Use a Forklift
Forklifts are material handling equipment that could transport cargo. Most commonly, these machinery are used in certain industries to transport heavy supplies in a wide variety of environments such as warehouses, airports and supply companies. Anyone operating a lift truck must be taught to carefully use the machine. It is essential to be completely aware of one's environment when driving a forklift. Forklifts are designed to run on gasoline, propane, batteries or diesel. Typical lift trucks are popular in various commercial applications and are truly not difficult to use with correct training. The following steps outline the basics of using a lift truck:
1 Familiarize yourself with the levers that will be utilized to maneuver the cargo and to transport the object from one place to another. The levers could be found to the right side of the steering wheel.
2 The first lever could move the forks down and up. Pushing the lever away from your body moves them down and pulling the lever towards your body moves the forks up. Blades should be kept close to the ground except when loading or unloading.
3 The two other levers work to control the blades movement right and left and to control the blades tilt. The forks are designed to tilt between 15 and 30 degrees. It is better that you practice before picking up a load. Utilizing the second lever, pull it towards you to tilt the blades back, and push it away from your body to tilt the forks forward.
4 The third lever is moved side to side to control the movement of the forks from right to left. Just move the lever towards where you want the tines to move: left in order to move the blades left, and right to move the forks right.
5 Cautiously approach the cargo. Lower the blades and drive forward cautiously until the blades slide under the cargo. Then lift the forks several centimeters by pulling the lever towards you. If the load is top-heavy, you need to tilt the blades backwards a little for balance.
6 Alert other people and employees when the lift truck is approaching by honking and take safety precautions by taking corners slowly and honking. Approach the area where you would be working carefully. Control the levers to maneuver the cargo to where it is going. When the load is placed, reverse gears and carefully back away.
7 A forklift stops the same way as a car. The brake is found to the accelerator's left side. When stopped, shift the gear into "park."