A forklift is a powerful machine that weighs several tons. Trucks and the loads they carry kill and injure people every year: workers are crushed in tip-overs, struck by loads, pinned against racks or run over. Almost all of these events can be prevented by training, good habits and a truck that is in safe condition.
The rule that applies: OSHA's powered industrial truck standard
In the United States, forklifts are covered by 29 CFR 1910.178, OSHA's standard for powered industrial trucks. The standard covers fork trucks, tractors, platform lift trucks, motorized hand trucks and other specialized industrial trucks powered by electric motors or internal combustion engines. Construction and other industries have standards of their own, so this course teaches the general industry rules.
The standard puts the main duty on the employer. Paragraph (l)(1)(i) says the employer shall ensure that each powered industrial truck operator is competent to operate the truck safely. Competence is shown by completing the required training and an evaluation of performance. The standard does not name a particular course, card or training company.
Who is an operator?
An operator is anyone who drives or controls a powered industrial truck, even for a few minutes. That includes:
- the person who moves a pallet "just once" when the regular driver is on a break;
- seasonal and temporary staff;
- someone who uses a motorized pallet jack or a reach truck, not only a sit-down forklift.
If the truck is powered and you control it, the training duty applies to you.
The minimum age
OSHA's standard is about competence. The age limit comes from federal child labor rules. 29 CFR 570.58 (Hazardous Occupations Order No. 7) bars workers under 18 in non-farm jobs from operating, riding on, repairing or servicing power-driven hoisting apparatus, and forklifts are named in it as "high-lift trucks". It has no exception for apprentices or student-learners. A young person of 16 or 17 may not operate a forklift outside farm work, even for a short job, even when a supervisor asks. Farm work has separate child labor rules. State laws can be stricter. This rule applies to the worker, and it is the employer who must keep young workers away from trucks.
What this course is
This course is theory only. It teaches the main rules of 29 CFR 1910.178 in plain English, so that you understand why the rules exist and can ask good questions at work. It is an awareness course.
What this course is not
This course does not make you an operator. Please read this carefully:
- No one may operate a forklift on the strength of this course.
- The OSHA standard requires formal instruction, practical training and an evaluation of your performance in the workplace. Practical training and the evaluation cannot be done online.
- They must be given by a person with the knowledge, training and experience to train operators and evaluate their competence.
- The employer certifies the operator's training and evaluation. The PDF certificate from this site is a certificate of completion. It is not a forklift license, not an OSHA card and not an operator qualification. The OSHA standard asks for no license or card from OSHA.
- Your employer also needs to teach you about its own trucks, its own building, aisles, ramps and rules. This course cannot know them.
What to do if you are unsure
- Do not operate a truck unless you have been trained and evaluated by your employer for that type of truck.
- Ask your supervisor which trucks you are authorized to use.
- If you see an untrained person on a truck, tell a supervisor.
- If a serious hazard stays after you reported it, you can contact OSHA at 1-800-321-OSHA or osha.gov.
Remember
Training plus evaluation by your employer comes first. This course supports it and never replaces it.