How to Use a Forklift
Lift trucks are material handling equipment which can transport cargo. Normally, these machinery are utilized in some industries to transport heavy supplies in a wide variety of settings like airports, supply companies and warehouses. Anybody operating a lift truck must be trained to carefully utilize the machine. It is essential to be completely aware of one's environment while driving a forklift. Lift trucks are designed to run on gasoline, propane, batteries or diesel. Regular forklifts are common in a wide array of commercial applications and are not hard to utilize with proper training. The following steps outline the fundamentals of operating a lift truck:
1 Get familiar with all the levers that are utilized to transport and maneuver the load from location to another location. The levers can be found to the right of the steering wheel.
2 The first lever could move the tines up and down. Pulling the lever towards your body moves the tines up, and pushing the lever away from you moves them down. Forks must always be kept near the ground except when unloading or loading.
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 recommended that you practice before picking up a load. Using the second lever, pull it towards you to tilt the forks back, and push it away from your body to tilt the tines forward.
4 Lever number 4 is used to control the forks side to side movement from right to left. Simply move the lever in the direction of where you would like the forks to move: right to move the blades right and left in order to move the forks left.
5 Cautiously approach the load. Lower the tines and cautiously drive forward until the forks slide under the cargo. After that lift the forks several centimeters by pulling the lever towards your body. If the cargo is top-heavy, you should tilt the tines backwards a little for balance.
6 Warn other individuals and personnel when the lift truck is approaching by honking and take safety measures by taking corners slowly and honking. Approach the place where you would be working with care. Manipulate the levers to maneuver the cargo to where it is going. When the cargo is positioned, reverse gears and back away carefully.
7 Lift trucks stop pretty much the same way as other types of vehicles. The brake is found to the left of the accelerator. When stopped, shift the gear into "park."