Course Introduction

Forklift at work during WWII

A powered industrial truck is defined as a fork truck, tractor, platform lift truck, motorized hand truck, and other specialized industrial trucks powered by electric motors or internal combustion engines.

Powered industrial trucks, often called forklifts or lift trucks, can be ridden or controlled by a walking operator.

As you can see in the photo at the right, forklifts have been around a long time and they've gone through some significant design improvements.

Even though 75% of forklift drivers are considered properly trained, every year over 100 workers are killed and 35,000 are seriously injured in forklift mishaps. Many forklift-related incidents, over 30%, involve pedestrians, not operators. In fact, the #1 most common accident is hitting or running over a pedestrian.

This course contains general information about:

• the kinds of forklifts commonly available
• the principles of physics that allow a forklift to lift and move heavy loads safely
• forklift operator training requirements
• basic operator safety rules
• hazardous locations where carbon monoxide is a problem or a special forklift is needed
• safety while servicing a forklift

This course is not designed to be a substitute for OSHA-required hands-on forklift operator training in the operation of specific forklifts. The course does not include safety regarding compressed air or nonflammable compressed gas-operated industrial trucks, farm vehicles, vehicles intended primarily for earth moving, or over-the-road hauling.

Modules

To begin your training, click on the module links below. If you are just starting this course, you should start with module 1.

1. Types of Powered Industrial Trucks (PITs) - Forklifts
2. Operator Training
3. How a Forklift Works
4. Safe Forklift Operations
5. Safe Forklift Operations (Continued)
6. Forklift Maintenance
7. Forklift Maintenance (Continued)

Please login to your student dashboard to access and download this FREE course PDF study guide. You can save this study guide to your computer for offline studying, or print the study guide if you prefer.

Course 725 Final Exam

After studying the course material and answering the quiz questions, it is time to take the final exam. We highly recommend answering the module quiz questions to check your understanding of the course material. The final exam questions are typically developed from these quiz questions.

OSHAcademy course final exams are designed to make sure students have gained a sufficient understanding of the content covered within each course. To help demonstrate this understanding, students must achieve a passing score on course final exams. It is OSHAcademy's policy to protect the integrity of our exams: as a result, we do not provide missed questions to students.

This is an open book exam. Students are permitted to use a separate browser window to review course content while taking the exam. If you do not pass a final exam, you will see a "Retake Exam" button next to the course on your student dashboard.

If you have already paid for your certificate

If you have already paid for certificates, your exam score will be displayed on your student dashboard after successfully passing the final exam. If you chose PDF certificates, you can view and print your certificate and personal transcript from your student dashboard. If you chose original printed documents, they will be prepared and mailed to the address in your student account.

If you only want free training

OSHAcademy provides free access to all training materials, including course modules, practice quizzes, exercises, and final exams. However, exam scores, certificates, and transcripts are provided only if you purchase a certificate package to document your training. If you do not require official training documentation, we will archive your exam results should you decide to purchase official certificates later.

Take the Final Exam

Endnotes

1. 29 CFR 1910.178, Powered Industrial Trucks, OSHA. (2014). Retrieved from: https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9828&p_text_version=FALSE#1910.178%28l%29

2. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2014a). Powered Industrial Trucks (Forklift) eTool. Retrieved from: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/pit/index.html

3. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2002). Forklift Safety, OR-OSHA. Retrieved from: http://www.cbs.state.or.us/external/osha/educate/materials/Forklift-Safety-251/1-251w.pdf

4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). Ergonomics and Cumulative Trauma Injuries: The Basics. Retrieved from: https://www.osha.gov/dte/grant_materials/fy10/sh-20998-10/Housekeeper_Ergo_Handout-English.pdf

5. Washington DOSH, Washington DOSH Publication F417-031-000. (2007). Forklift Safety Guide. Retrieved from: http://www.lni.wa.gov/IPUB/417-031-000.pdf

Additional Resources

• Powered Industrial Trucks, OSHA
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Operating Rules for Industrial Trucks – California
• Powered Industrial Trucks
• PIT Guidelines – Ontario Ministry of Labour