The best forklift truck courses are supervised by officials of a safety-implementing organization such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the United States. The forklift truck courses should also include hands-on driving and not simply classroom lectures in order to provide the best in training and experience. Often, a company or manufacturing plant will offer forklift truck courses, with job offers awarded to successful applicants of the training course. When choosing a course, attempt to take only those courses that offer training in more than the basic forklift, such as electric and gas trucks as well as fork squeeze-type lifts and larger yard-type lift trucks.
Any type of forklift truck course should simulate actual warehouse conditions, and industry equipment should be available to train on. By operating in an actual working environment, distractions such as movement, noise and obstacles can be simulated, which adds to the realism of the training. The best forklift truck courses will also include toxic spill cleanup and first aid. As a forklift operator, you are typically the first person to encounter an emergency situation, and the best courses will train you to respond properly to just such an emergency. Material Safety Data Sheets, or MSDS, information is also taught in the best forklift truck courses.
Day-to-day servicing and maintenance methods are included in the best forklift truck courses and will train you on charging batteries, changing batteries and replacing fuel tanks in preparation for a day's work. Other safety inspection items such as fork condition, hydraulic line condition and tires will be included in the best forklift truck courses. Lesser-quality courses will not focus on the preventative maintenance that you should do to avoid catastrophic failure of the forklift components. Thus, you will not be properly trained to do your job as a forklift operator since there is much more to operating a forklift than simply driving the machine.
There is often a fee to attend the best forklift truck courses, however, the fee is soon returned when you become employed by having superior knowledge over those who trained in a lessor course. Your personal safety is also in the hands of your training staff. Any injury that is avoided because of the training you received in your course makes the fee a nominal thing in the grand scheme of things. Certification in the operation of a forklift can be the first step in a forklift operating career.