Counterbalance forklift Training
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA require that anyone operating a counterbalanced lift truck be given classroom or lecture style training. They additionally require that a periodic refresher training in addition to a supervised driving course is completed. There is no minimum time requirement for the supervised driving or classroom training. What's more, there is no frequency mandated for the refresher training either.
Counterbalanced Forklifts
A counterbalanced lift truck balances its cargo with the weight of the truck. The forks on a lift truck are in a fixed position; they go up and down and do not turn. The forks run parallel to the body of the forklift. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration require that drivers who would be operating counterbalanced forklifts on the job be properly trained on the trucks while being in the kind of setting that they will be utilizing them.
Classroom Training
Lecture style training or classroom training provides information regarding the truck that the driver would be utilizing. This training covers aspects such as load and weight capacity, height, how to fuel or charge the forklift. It covers how to gauge the time on the engine as well as any forklift specific safety information like where to stand when walking around the truck. Either oral and/or written testing is part of the classroom training. There is no required minimum time for the training.
Supervised Driving
The driver of a forklift would need to learn to drive the equipment 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 similar vehicle and pedestrian traffic nearby, and the same surrounding structures nearby also. There is no required minimum number of hours the driver has to drive while being supervised.