Counterbalance forklift Training
The OSHA or Occupational Safety and Health Administration require that anybody utilizing a counterbalanced forklift be given classroom or lecture style training. They additionally require that a supervised driving program is finished in addition to periodic refresher training. There is no required minimum time for the classroom training or supervised driving. What's more, there is no frequency mandated for the refresher training either.
Counterbalanced Forklifts
A counterbalanced lift truck balances its load using the truck's weight. 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. OSHA require that people who would be operating counterbalanced forklifts on the job be properly trained on the trucks while being in the kind of environment which they would be using them.
Classroom Training
Lecture style training or classroom training offers information regarding the truck that the driver would be driving. This training includes aspects such as weight and load capacity, height, how to charge or fuel the lift truck. It covers how to gauge the time on the engine in addition to any forklift specific safety information like where to stand when walking around the truck. Either written and/or oral testing is part of the classroom training. There is no minimum time requirement for the training.
Supervised Driving
The driver of a forklift would have to learn to operate the machinery while being supervised. The supervised driving has to take place in an environment that resembles the current environment which the operator works in. This atmosphere should include the type of terrain she would be traveling on, have similar surrounding structures close by, and similar pedestrian and vehicle traffic close by as well. There is no required minimum number of hours the operator needs to drive while being supervised.