Forklift Controls
In any warehouse environment, one of the most common machinery is a forklift or lift truck. These all-around machinery consist of a vehicle with two pronged forks at the front that can transport and carry bulky items.
Forklifts could maneuver in small spaces and can lift items into up high, hard to reach places. Forklifts are still extremely dangerous machinery and should be utilized in a safe way at all times, after proper training and certification has taken place.
When new to a forklift, take time to read the owner's guidebook and familiarize yourself with the controls. Be sure to take note of the location of every particular control and what specific feature it functions. Nearly all lift trucks have two levers which control the forks. The first lever controls the height of the fork. In order to make the forks go down, the lever should be pushed forward. To be able to move the forks upwards, you simply pull back on the lever.
There is another lever which controls the forks tilt. This tilting capability enables for better distribution of weight. This tilting action helps to keep objects steady and won't allow things to fall off when driving. In addition, it helps things slide off while unloading in a more balanced method.
By pulling the second lever back, the forks will tilt back, when pushing the lever forward would tilt the forks forward. Some kinds of forklifts are equipped with a third lever which controls the width of the forks. Each one of these levers is situated just to the right of the driver's seat.
Inexperienced drivers must take advantage of experienced coworkers who can go over the controls with them. Be certain to do this while the forklift is off and not being utilized. Ask the trained expert if you have any questions regarding how something works.
Observation is often the best method to learn new forklift skills. So make time to observe a coworker showing the function of each control. On hydrostatic forklifts, notice that in order to make the machinery go, you use the gas. And if you would like to make it stop, you simply release the gas pedal. There is no brake on these kinds of lift trucks. There are some types of hydrostatic forklifts that are equipped with battery powered engines that turn off when the gas pedal is released. They start up once the gas pedal is pushed again.