Using Forklifts

Using your forklift for job efficiency

It is very common to see people using forklifts when you enter a warehouse, lumberyard, or home improvement store. Forklifts move and lift heavy or awkward materials. Construction teams, wholesale building stockmen, and home improvement supply stores find them very valuable. One person, making work more efficient, can operate forklifts.

Standard forklifts have two forks on the front. However many companies purchase accessories to create more options for using forklifts. Some find that specialty forklifts, such as truck mounted forklifts, and industrial forklifts, better meet their needs. When considering using forklifts in your business, think about the following:

1. How often will you use the forklift?

2. What will you move with the forklift?

3. Will you need to purchase any forklift accessories?

Use your forklift in conjunction with pallets to move small items

Due to the structure of the arms on a forklift, small items fall between forks on the front. The arms tear fragile items, such as a bag of feed. To compensate, many businesses use pallets when moving such items with a forklift. Wooden pallets have slots on the side in which forklift arms fit. Stack your items on top of the pallet and use your forklift to move the entire pallet. This will protect your items and allow you to move more at one time. In some cases, pallets have a stand-alone use. On farms, for example, pallets line the floor of chicken houses. Farmers move the pallets each time they clean the house, and forklifts are great for removing and replacing pallets quickly. Remember, pallets have a specific location for forklift arms. Insert the arms under the thick middle of the pallet.
CAMD forklift safety training outlines safety precautions when using a forklift to move pallets.

Lift people with forklifts

Some companies lift workers to hard-to-reach heights with forklifts. Forklifts can hoist construction workers up to higher locations to hammer nails, paint, and more. Forklifts raise men in warehouse to stack, move, and mark boxes and inventory. However, forklift manufacturers do not create forklifts solely to lift people. Companies must purchase a forklift platform attachment to move or lift a person safely with a forklift.

Move lumber with a forklift

Use knowledgeable drivers and safety measures when moving lumber with forklift equipment. Bundle attachments on fork lifts make the moves safer. Direct employees to bundle the lumber together to keep individual boards from falling. When moving boards a long distance, strap the bundle to the arms of the forklift. Use the fork lift to stack lumber by bundles. Be careful when lifting bundles to the top of the stack, because boards can fall even when bundled.
CDC offers information about forklift safety for workers and employers. It also gives details of cases in which injuries have occurred from moving lumber with forklifts. MSC Direct offers a variety of attachments for moving lumber with a forklift.

• Companies must consider safety as top priority when operating forklifts. Make sure that all forklift operators have undergone some type of formal training for forklift operation.

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