Everything You Need to Know
All manufacturing, production, and distribution companies have personnel qualified to operate heavy-duty forklifts.
Transporting heavy loads or a sufficient volume of products from one stage of the production process to another requires the ability to operate a forklift. You can become a more dependable and competent worker with forklift certification.
In this post, we will go over the definition of a forklift certification, the prerequisites for acquiring one, and the advantages of doing so.
Understanding Forklift Certification
A forklift certification is the outcome of a training program that ensures operators have the skills, education, and safety requirements to drive a lift truck without endangering their safety or damaging property.
Even if you have never used a forklift before, receiving the training for a lift truck certification can provide you with the practical experience and theoretical knowledge you need to operate this commercial vehicle safely.
Some forklift training courses allow candidates to enroll without any prior experience, while most require that they possess a certain amount of previous experience.
Courses for forklift certification follow OSHA guidelines. The OSHA standard is a set of regulations that most companies follow to guarantee employee safety during work, breaks, and apparatus usage.
You must pay various program entrance fees to become qualified to operate a forklift unless your employer covers the cost. Most practice tests, especially those that OSHA conducts directly, provide various study tools, practice exams, and little time constraints for preparation.
Is Forklift Certification Mandatory?
The truth is that lift trucks are one of the most dangerous vehicles. Because picking up heavy loads could cause the vehicle to tip over and the tines could damage property or injure those nearby, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires all forklift operators to undergo training before operating a forklift.
During lift truck training, you will learn how to identify the risks and hazards associated with forklift operations and understand how to mitigate them.
According to research, companies that adopt appropriate forklift operator training programs and carry out daily pre-shift checks are more likely to decrease the number of forklift accidents. Training will also contribute to lowering their downtime and expenses.
The pre-shift inspections can also identify maintenance problems to extend forklift lifespan, improve operator abilities, and reduce forklift downtime.
The employer may face hefty fines and penalties if your employee is found driving a forklift without forklift certification.
By ensuring that their workforce has received the required training, employers can effectively prevent mishaps involving personal injuries, property damage, and work-related fatalities.
The Benefits of Forklift Certification
Receiving the necessary training can provide several benefits, including:
- Skill development. Receiving forklift certification demonstrates your familiarity with heavy machinery and your ability to learn additional, closely related skills.
- Expand your career opportunities. As you search for jobs, you might be able to expand your career options with a lift truck certification.
- Safety. By pursuing this qualification, you will also have essential safety knowledge to help you stay safe while operating a forklift. It will also ensure that those around you are safe and prevent property damage that could seriously strain your finances and career.
What Are the Requirements for Forklift Certification?
According to the OSHA, candidates must meet the following criteria:
1. Minimum Age
All candidates must be at least 18 years old to be certified to operate a forklift. Programs frequently set the minimum age to 18 or older because most training courses require a valid driver’s license before using moving machinery.
However, you might be able to find courses that restrict this requirement to 16 or even 15-year-olds and older in specific professions or training courses.
2. Prior Experience with Forklift Operation
Before enrolling for a forklift certification, most courses, typically governed by OSHA, mandate that all candidates have at least some lift truck experience. However, certain companies might allow exceptions to this regulation, mainly if they provide independently operated forklift operation training courses.
Even if you have no experience using a lift truck, a company that operates outside of OSHA might be able to train you. Without prior experience, training could be more expensive and take longer.
3. OSHA Standards
OSHA federal guidelines demand the assessment of forklift training courses if the business provides them independently. An assessment is done to ensure that every training session and set of requirements are suitable for the workplace. Moreover, OSHA guidelines assist third-party certification administrators in providing access to current information.
What Will You Learn During Forklift Training?
Your training program will cover everything you need to know to ensure safe work practices, drive the vehicle safely, and load and unload cargo. Here’s a summary of what you can expect to learn:
- OSHA safety requirements
- How to safely operate a forklift
- Battery and propane safety
- Load centers
- The characteristics of these commercial vehicles
- Brake systems
- Safety inspections
- Data plates
- Responsibilities of forklift operators
- Operating environments
Get Started with Your Lift Truck Driver Training!
Are you looking for a reputable training organization to help you reach your career goals? Do you need to provide river training for your staff? Look no further than ROI Safety Services! We offer comprehensive forklift training courses to provide everything you need to operate these commercial vehicles.
We have helped thousands of employees expand their career options and maintain a safe working environment with our OSHA-certified training courses.
To learn more about our forklift training, please contact us at (714) 520-1608 or info@roisafetyservices.com. Alternatively, you can use our online form. Our team would be happy to answer your questions!
