Powered Industrial Trucks
Industrial trucks include fork trucks, tractors, platform lift trucks, motorized hand trucks, and other specialized industrial trucks powered by electric motors or internal combustion engines. When operating or supervising the use of any of these pieces of equipment the following guidelines shall be followed.
- Industrial trucks shall not be altered so that the relative positions of the various parts are different from what they were when originally received from the manufacturer. Industrial trucks shall not be altered either by the addition of extra parts not provided by the manufacturer or by the elimination of any parts. Additional counter weighting of fork trucks shall not be done unless approved by the truck manufacturer.
- Industrial trucks shall be examined before being placed in service and shall not be placed in service if the examination shows any condition adversely affecting the safety of the vehicle. Such examination shall be made at least daily. Where industrial trucks are used on a round-the-clock basis, they shall be examined after each shift. A qualified individual shall repair all defects. A statement of repair must be provided prior to placing the industrial truck back into service.
- Supervisors must ensure that employees are competent to operate an industrial truck as demonstrated by successful completion of a training program and evaluation.
