Forklift Safety | Operate forklifts safely

Operation and Maintenance of Your Forklift

To operate a forklift in Australia, you need to have a Forklift licence, many people just forget the second they have their forklift licence, what their supposed to check before they start operation of a forklift. Keep in mind that it is the businesses responsibility to make sure the the right procedures are followed.

Before you start the forklift, its important to ensure that it is in safe working order, ready to be used and capable of completing the task required of it. A business smart practice is to develop and implement a system of work that nominates the person who will ensure the safety checking occurs, e.g. a manager or supervisor. (more…)

FORKLIFTS and Rated Capacity

All forklifts have a rating, which is the maximum weight that they are designed to lift safely, often referred as SAFE WORKING LOAD (SWL) or WORKING LOAD LIMIT (WLL). Depending on the type of forklift depends on how they are actually calculated.

Counterbalanced forklifts

The rated capacity for counterbalanced trucks shall be expressed as the maximum load in kilograms that a truck is designed to transport and stack, operating on a hard level surface, with the mast vertical, with maximum lift height and at load-centre distances. (more…)

Forklifts and Indentifying Hazards

In warehouses, factories, shipping yards, freight terminals and other workplaces across Australia, forklifts are used to lift, stack and transfer loads.

While forklifts offer a practical materials handling solution for many businesses, each year they continue to be associated with workplace deaths and injuries. The human and financial cost of forklift-related incidents for employees, industry and the community is substantial, and in the most part completely avoidable, especially when employees and employers work together to improve health and safety at work. (more…)

Forklift Attachments and 4 Ways To Get The Best From Them

One of the most common forklift attachments is a set of slippers. Some times your load you are picking up might be a little longer then you might usually pickup. That's where a set of forklift slippers or tyne extensions come in handy, as a quick and easy solution.

That is where you are wrong. Quick yes, easy far from it..

As with any attachment you put onto a forklift, it can and will reduce the lifting capacity of the unit. There are some things you need to consider when putting a set of slippers onto a forklift :

Load size

As a general rule of thumb, the fork tyne should be at least 75% of the length of load that it is picking up.

Reduction is lifting capacity The forklift will lift LESS the further you further you extend the load center. It is highly recommended in going to the Forklift Manufacturer, to…

The Truth About Forklift LPG Inspections

Laws change all the time, and as a business it is crucial that you keep abreast of those changes. It happens with forklifts all the time, the rules change, which is just what happened with the LPG systems on forklifts and forklift LPG inspections that are required under law by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines.

Under the new laws and regulations from September 2016, the LPG system on forklifts now need to be inspected every six months if they are a commercial vehicle and if its a hire forklift the hire company needs to be checked before every hire. (more…)

Forklift Licensing Requirements in Australia

If you are wanting to operate a forklift in Australia, you'll need to have an Australian forklift license. To get a valid forklift license, you are now required to undertake registered forklift training. You then need to sit for and be assessed for a forklift licence.

Why you might need forklift training

Forklift licence regulations have changed recently. As a result, anyone who is planning to work as a full-time forklift operator will also need to be assessed. If you have been working as a forklift driver, depending on when you got your forklift licence, you might still have to be re-assessed.

Here's a summary of guidelines and regulations applying to forklift licenses. Your local Work Place Health and Safety office will have the most recent information regarding forklift licenses that you need, and there are many different companies offering courses in Australia. Talk to your local forklif…

Working With A Lift Work Platform

Forklifts are a very versatile tool to have in your workplace. With a large range of attachments available, one of the most common slip-on attachments is the lift work platform. Unfortunately, a lot of Australian businesses don’t really know what is required under Australia Law when it comes to using a work platform with a forklift.

It is imperative to make sure you have the right capacity forklift and make sure that the attachment is rated correctly on your forklift. Let's take a look at what's required under Australian Law. Does your forklift comply with a lift work platform?

Forklifts which are used with lift work platforms need to comply with the following requirements under Australian standard AS2359.1

(a) The rated capacities of the trucks shall be equal to or greater than the following: