Forklifts and People on Foot

A forklift weighs more empty than a car does loaded, steers from the back wheels, and carries its weight high. It behaves like nothing else you have driven.

Only trained, evaluated operators

1910.178(l) is specific: formal instruction, practical training, and an evaluation of the operator in the workplace — then re-evaluated at least every three years, and sooner after an accident, a near miss or a change of equipment. Training on a sit-down counter-balance is not training on a reach truck. "I've driven one for years" is not a certification.

The load

• Tilt back and travel low. Forks four to six inches off the ground, mast tilted back.
• Load centre matters more than weight. The capacity plate assumes the load sits at a standard distance from the heels of the forks. Long or awkward loads shift that centre out and the real capacity drops fast.
• Travel in reverse when the load blocks your view — except going up a ramp, where the load stays uphill.
• Never lift people on the forks. A pallet with someone standing on it is not an aerial lift.

Tipping

Most forklift deaths are tip-overs, and most of those kill the operator by crushing them between the overhead guard and the ground as they try to jump clear.

• Wear the belt. It exists to keep you inside the guard.
• If it goes over: stay in, hold on, brace your feet, lean away from the fall. Do not jump.
• Turns are where they go — slow down before the turn, not in it.

If you are on foot

• Assume the operator cannot see you. Loads block the view straight ahead.
• Never walk under raised forks, loaded or empty.
• Stay out of the aisle when a truck is working it. Wait, or go round.
• Watch the rear end: a forklift's back swings wide, and it swings into whatever is standing next to it.

Every shift

Inspect before use. Forks, chains, tyres, horn, brakes, lights, leaks, data plate. A truck with a fault comes out of service, not "gets used carefully."