Operating Procedures and Maneuvering in the Workplace
This domain tests the travel and load-handling sequence expected during ordinary work: start-up, movement, picking and placing, grades, docks, and parking. Marks are lost for unsafe habits even when the load arrives intact.
Travel and load rules
- Wear the restraint, adjust the seat, and check the route for overhead obstructions, floor damage, and pedestrians.
- Travel with the load low and tilted back; keep forks about 4-6 in above the floor when empty or carrying a pallet, and higher only to clear known obstructions.
- Look in the direction of travel. If the load blocks forward view, travel in reverse, except when climbing a grade with a load.
- Sound the horn at blind corners and doorways, slow down, and use a spotter where visibility or clearance is limited.
- On grades, travel straight up or down, not across; keep the load uphill. Do not turn on a ramp.
- Park with forks flat on the floor, mast vertical, controls neutral, parking brake set, key removed; chock wheels where required.
Worked example
An operator must move a tall pallet that completely blocks forward vision down a level aisle. The safe method is to travel in reverse, looking over the shoulder in the direction of travel, with the load low and tilted back, at walking pace. If the route includes a blind corner, stop, sound the horn, and proceed only when clear. Travelling forward while peering around the load is a fail because the operator cannot see pedestrians or obstructions.
Traps
Coasting in neutral; turning while the load is raised; carrying a load that blocks view forward 'just a short distance'; parking with forks elevated or key left in; using reverse as an excuse to travel fast.