Counterbalance lift truck Training
OSHA does require drivers using a counterbalanced lift truck to have received classroom or lecture style training. They additionally require that a periodic refresher training along with a supervised driving course is finished. There is no required minimum time for the supervised driving or classroom training. Also, there is no frequency mandated for the refresher training either.
Counterbalanced Forklifts
A counterbalanced forklift balances its load with 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. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration require that individuals who would be operating counterbalanced forklifts on the job be trained on the trucks while being in the kind of setting 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 load and weight capacity, height, how to charge or fuel the lift truck. It includes how to gauge the time on the engine along with any lift truck specific safety information like where to stand when walking around the truck. Either oral and/or written testing is part of the classroom training. There is no minimum time requirement for the training.
Supervised Driving
The driver of a forklift will have to learn to use the equipment while being supervised. The supervised driving needs to take place in an environment which resembles the present environment which the driver works in. This atmosphere should include the type of terrain she would be traveling on, have similar pedestrian and vehicle traffic nearby, and similar surrounding structures close by also. There is no required minimum number of hours the driver has to drive while being supervised.