Load Handling: Load Centre, Rated Capacity, Stacking and De-stacking
This domain tests the practical lift: assessing a load before you touch it, calculating the effective capacity, and the sequence for placing and retrieving loads on the floor, on racking and in stacks.
Assess before you lift
Establish the weight from the paperwork, the pallet marking or the consignment note - never guess. Check the load centre, whether the load is stable, banded or wrapped, whether the pallet is sound, and whether the weight is evenly distributed with the centre of gravity central. Choose forks long enough that the load is fully supported, spread them as wide as the pallet allows, and confirm the rating at that load centre and lift height covers the weight.
Lift sequence
Approach square and central, mast vertical, forks level and just clear of the floor, enter fully under the load, lift clear, tilt back to settle the load against the backrest, then lower to the travel position - roughly 100–150 mm above the ground.
Stacking and de-stacking
Mast vertical to place, raise until the load just clears the stack or beam, move forward, lower, tilt back slightly and withdraw. On racking, confirm the beam is rated for the load, check the beam locks, place the pallet squarely within the beams, never push or drag a pallet across the beams and never climb the racking.
Worked example
A pallet weighs 1,200 kg with its centre of gravity 650 mm from the fork face. The truck is rated 1,500 kg at 500 mm. Effective capacity ≈ (1,500 × 500) ÷ 650 = 1,154 kg - 46 kg short. The lift cannot be made as planned; the options are to split the pallet, use a truck rated for the job, or reconfigure the load so its centre of gravity sits closer to the fork face.
Traps
- Accepting a marked weight without checking that it looks plausible.
- Lifting a load on a damaged pallet.
- De-stacking without checking the load above or the beam capacity.