Forklift Training and Certification

Regulations and guidelines from OSHA and ANSI give employers plenty of leeway when it comes to designing their own operator training structures. However, there are strict requirements that must be met to ensure that employees have received adequate instruction and are fully qualified to operate forklifts.

To meet these standards, all Forklift Academy  operator training must include formal instruction (lectures, classes, videos, and slideshows) as well as practical training and evaluation. The former can be taken online, while the latter must take place in person and include demonstrations and exercises directly on the forklift type the employee will operate at work. Forklifts are very powerful pieces of equipment, which means that operators should be evaluated to make sure they can operate them safely.

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Typically, this will be done by an instructor who has been trained to conduct the assessment. However, some companies will also employ forklift trainers who are certified to evaluate their own workers. Regardless of how it is done, each employee will need to be recertified for operation of the same type of lift truck every three years and have his or her performance evaluated after any incident or near miss.

Having the right forklift training and certification helps to keep your workforce productive and prevents costly accidents on the job. It’s best to partner with a provider that can affirm its programs align with OSHA’s stringent standards and can confirm an operator has passed these tests. It can be difficult for busy managers to put together an effective in-house program, which is why many organizations opt to outsource their forklift operator training needs.