Inspect Your Way to Safer Forklift Operations

Making sure a forklift is safe to operate is an important part of forklift safety training. Operators must be trained to inspect their lift trucks effectively to ensure safe operation.

A preoperational forklift inspection always begins with a "walkaround." Here’s a simple 4-step walkaround that you can teach your forklift operators in just one short safety meeting:

1. Walk up to the forklift. Make sure the forklift is properly disengaged with the forks down, the key turned off, and the forklift set in neutral with the parking brake on.
2. Walk to either side of the forklift. Check the tires, making sure there are no gouges, tears, or imbedded metal. Also check to make sure that they are properly inflated. Check the overhead guard, and make sure that there is no debris lodged behind the mast.
3. Walk to the front of the forklift. Check to make sure the forks and hoses are in good condition. Fork pins should be in place, and the backrest should be solid. The mast and chains should be greased.
4. Walk to the rear of the forklift. Check that the counterbalance bolt is tight, and the radiator is clear of debris and is not leaking.

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Basics of an Operational Inspection

After completing the walkaround inspection, operators should conduct an operational inspection with the engine running. This inspection includes:

• Accelerator linkage
• Inch control (if equipped)
• Brakes
• Steering
• Drive control: forward and reverse
• Tilt control: forward and back
• Hoist and lowering control
• Attachment control
• Horn
• Lights
• Back-up alarm  

When training on inspections, emphasize that any powered industrial truck not in safe operating condition should be removed from service. Also stress that all repairs must be made by authorized personnel.

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Training for Under $6 a Session!

Whether you’re training employees on forklift safety or training on a whole range of other vital workplace safety and health topics, you have a friend in BLR. We can make training easy for you—and inexpensive.

Our Safety Meeting Repros provides you with 50 completely turnkey safety meeting modules, each responsive to a key OSHA regulation, with trainee materials in reproducible form—all for under $6 a session!

A supervisor on any shift can easily run the training session. All the trainer has to do is check off the outline items as he or she proceeds through the meeting, and trainees won’t miss a single point of importance. Then the trainer can follow up with the fully prepared quiz (with instantly available answers) and illustrated handouts that also come with each lesson.

Presto! You’ve completed a full training cycle, with little more work than running a copier, at a cost equivalent of under $6 a session.

We don’t think you can appreciate how much this program can ease your training task without looking it over. We invite you to do so at no cost (we’ll even pay any return shipping) and no risk. Here’s how you can arrange a trial run, at our expense.