Safe Operating Procedures and Manoeuvring
This domain tests the travel and handling rules that keep a moving forklift stable and predictable. Questions often place a routine task in an awkward location: a ramp, a blind corner, a dock or a tight aisle.
Core rules
- Before moving: seat belt fastened, seat adjusted, mirrors set, load secure, forks low and mast tilted back slightly.
- Travel posture: carry loads low, about 100–150 mm above the floor, and keep the load uphill on ramps. Loaded trucks normally travel forward up a ramp and in reverse down a ramp; never turn on a ramp.
- Visibility: if the load blocks forward view, travel in reverse, except on ramps where the load-uphill rule controls. Use a spotter where visibility is restricted.
- Speed and distance: slow down for corners, doorways, crossings and poor floors; keep a safe following distance and never race another truck.
- Prohibited practices: no passengers, no riding on forks, no lifting people on forks, no horseplay, no phone use while operating.
- Parking: forks flat on the floor, mast vertical, controls neutral, parking brake applied, key removed, parked in a designated area away from aisles and fire equipment.
Worked example
You must descend a ramp with a loaded pallet. Reasoning: the load must remain uphill, so travel in reverse down the ramp, keeping the load on the uphill side. Do not turn on the ramp and do not raise the load. If the ramp is blocked or too steep for the truck’s rating, stop and seek an alternative route.
Traps
- Travelling with the load raised to ‘see better’.
- Turning on a ramp or dock plate.
- Using forks as a manlift.
- Parking with forks raised or the key left in.
- Assuming a horn gives right of way.