How to Correctly Utilize a Lift truck
Lift trucks are material handling equipment that can move cargo. Most commonly, these machines are used in some industries to transport heavy supplies in a wide variety of environments such as supply companies, warehouses and airports. Any person operating a lift truck needs to be taught to utilize the machinery cautiously. It is essential to be fully aware of one's surroundings while driving a forklift. Lift trucks are designed to run on gasoline, propane, diesel or batteries. Typical lift trucks are common in various commercial applications and are really not difficult to use with proper training. The following steps outline the fundamentals of utilizing a forklift:
1 Familiarize yourself with the levers that will be used to maneuver the load and to move the object from one location to another. The levers can be found to the steering wheel's right side.
2 The first lever can move the blades down and up. Pulling the lever towards your body moves the forks up, and pushing the lever away from you moves them down. Tines must be kept near the ground except when loading or unloading.
3 The two other levers work to control the tines movement right and left and to control the tines tilt. The blades are designed to tilt between 15 and 30 degrees. It is better that you practice prior to picking up a load. Using the second lever, pull it towards you to tilt the blades back, and push it away from you to tilt the tines 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 in the direction of where you want the tines to move: right in order to move the forks right and left in order to move the forks left.
5 Always approach a load cautiously. Lower the blades and drive forward cautiously until the forks slide under the load. Then lift the forks a few centimeters by pulling the lever towards you. If the load is top-heavy, you must tilt the blades backwards a little for balance.
6 Safe driving rules include slowly taking corners and honking to warn pedestrians or other employees that the lift truck is approaching. Approach the area where you would be working cautiously. Control the levers to maneuver the cargo to where it is going. When the load is positioned, reverse gears and back away carefully.
7 A lift truck stops the same way as an automobile. The brake is found to the accelerator's left side. Once stopped, shift the gear into "park."