A US airman operating a forklift

A Forklift truck (also called a lift truck, a High/Low, a forklift, a stacker-truck or a sideloader) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and transport materials. The modern forklift truck was developed in the 1920s by various companies including the transmission manufacturing company Clark and the hoist company Yale & Towne Manufacturing.^[1] The forklift truck has since become an indispensable piece of equipment in manufacturing and warehousing operations. A wooden pallet A plastic pallet with nine legs, which can be lifted from all four sides A Pallet can also be a small, hard, or temporary bed (a term heavily used in the southern United States to describe a makeshift bed consisting of a blanket and a pillow on... Manual pallet jack 3D model A pallet jack is a tool used to lift and move pallets. ... Download high resolution version (1000x656, 130 KB)Airman 1st Class Fernando Smith manuoevers a pallet of beverages to be picked up by Staff Sgt. ... Download high resolution version (1000x656, 130 KB)Airman 1st Class Fernando Smith manuoevers a pallet of beverages to be picked up by Staff Sgt. ... USAF redirects here. ... For other uses, see Truck (disambiguation). ... Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Gearbox redirects here. ... Clark Material Handling Company (CMHC), is a manufacturer of forklift trucks, based in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. They have also a production plant in Changwon City, South Korea. ...

History

The middle 19th century through the early 20th century saw the developments that led to today's modern forklifts. The Pennsylvania Railroad in 1906 introduced battery powered platform trucks for moving luggage at their Altoona, Pennsylvania train station. World War I saw the development of different types of material handling equipment in the United Kingdom by Ransomes, Sims and Jeffries of Ipswich. This was in part due to the labor shortages caused by the war. In 1917 Clark in the United States began developing and using powered tractor and powered lift tractors in their factories. In 1919 the Towmotor Company and Yale & Towne Manufacturing in 1920 entered the lift truck market in the United States.^[2] 1893 map The Pennsylvania Railroad (AAR reporting mark PRR) was an American railroad that was founded in 1846 and merged in 1968 into Penn Central Transportation. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Clark Material Handling Company (CMHC), is a manufacturer of forklift trucks, based in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. They have also a production plant in Changwon City, South Korea. ...

Continuing development and expanded use of the forklift truck continued through the 1920's and 1930's. World War II, like World War I before, spurred the use of forklift trucks in the war effort. Following the war, more efficient methods for storing products in warehouses were being implemented. Warehouses needed more maneuverable forklift trucks that could reach greater heights. New forklift truck models were made that filled this need.^[3] Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... “The Great War ” redirects here. ...

Design types

The following is a list of the more common lift truck types. It is arranged from the smallest type of lift to largest: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (612x824, 73 KB)Author: US Dept of Energy This image is a work of a United States Department of Energy (or predecessor organization) employee, taken or made during the course of an employees official duties. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (612x824, 73 KB)Author: US Dept of Energy This image is a work of a United States Department of Energy (or predecessor organization) employee, taken or made during the course of an employees official duties. ...

• Hand pallet truck
• Walkie low lift truck (powered pallet truck, usually electrically powered)
• Rider low lift truck
• Towing tractor
• Walkie stacker
• Rider stacker
• Reach truck (small forklift, designed for small aisles, usually electrically powered)
• Electric counterbalanced truck
• IC counterbalanced truck
• Sideloader
• Telescopic handler
• Slip Sheet machine
• Walkie Order Picking truck
• Rider Order Picking truck (commonly called an "Order Picker"; like a small forklift, except the operator rides up to the load and transfers it article by article)
• Articulated Very Narrow Aisle Counterbalanced trucks (commonly called "Flexi Truck")
• Guided Very Narrow Aisle truck - 'Man Down' (a type of reach truck designed for aisles less than five feet wide) and 'Man Riser' Combination Order Picker/ Stacker truck
• Truck Mounted Forklift / Sod Loader

Manual pallet jack 3D model A pallet jack is a tool used to lift and move pallets. ... Telescopic handler A telescopic handler, or telehandler, is a machine widely used in Agriculture and Industry. ...

Specialty trucks

At the other end of the spectrum from the counterbalanced forklift trucks are more 'high end' specialty trucks:

• Articulated Counterbalance Trucks

These are, unlike most other lift trucks, front wheel steer, and are a hybrid VNA (Very Narrow Aisle) truck designed to be both able to offload trailers and place the load in narrow aisle racking. Increasingly these trucks are able to compete in terms of pallet storage density, lift heights and pallet throughput with Guided Very Narrow Aisle trucks.

• Guided Very Narrow Aisle Trucks

These are rail or wide guided and available with lift heights up to 12 metres (40') non top-tied and 30 metres (98') top-tied. Two forms are available; 'man-down' and 'man-riser' where the operator elevates with the load for increased visibility or for multilevel 'break bulk' order picking. This type of truck, unlike Articulated Narrow Aisle Trucks, requires a high standard of floor flatness.

• U.S. Military 10K-AT "Adverse Terrain"

Counterbalanced forklift components

Image of an electric forklift with component descriptions

A typical counterbalanced forklift contains the following components:^[4]

• The Truck Frame - is the base of the machine to which the mast, axles, wheels, counterweight, overhead guard and power source are attached. The frame may have fuel and hydraulic fluid tanks constructed as part of the frame assembly.

• The Counterweight - is a heavy cast iron mass attached to the rear of the forklift truck frame. The purpose of the counterweight is to counterbalance the load being lifted. In an electric forklift the large lead-acid battery itself may serve as part of the counterweight.

• The Cab - is the area that contains a seat for the operator along with the control pedals, steering wheel, levers, switches and a dashboard containing operator readouts. The cab area may be open air or enclosed, but it is covered by the cage-like overhead guard assembly.

• The Overhead Guard - is a metal roof supported by posts at each corner of the cab that helps protect the operator from any falling objects. On some forklift trucks, the overhead guard is part of the frame assembly

• The Power Source - may consist of an internal combustion engine that can be powered by LP gas, CNG gas, gasoline or diesel fuel. Electric forklifts are powered by either a battery or fuel cells that provide power to electric motors. The motors may be either DC or AC types.

• Tilt Cylinders - are hydraulic cylinders that are mounted to the truck frame and the mast. The tilt cylinders pivot the mast to assist in engaging a load.

• The Mast - is the vertical assembly that does the work of raising and lowering the load. It is made up of interlocking rails that also provide lateral stability. The interlocking rails may either have rollers or bushings as guides. The mast is either hydraulically operated by one or more hydraulic cylinders or it may be chain operated with a hydraulic motor providing motive power. It may be mounted to the front axle or the frame of the forklift.

• The Carriage - is the component to which the forks or other attachments mount. It is mounted into and moves up and down the mast rails by means of chains or by being directly attached to the hydraulic cylinder. Like the mast, the carriage may have either rollers or bushings to guide it in the interlocking mast rails.

• The Load Back Rest - is a rack-like extension that is either bolted or welded to the carriage in order to prevent the load from shifting backward when the carriage is lifted to full height.

• Attachments - may consist of forks or tines that are the L-shaped members that engage the load. A variety of other types of material handling attachments are available. These include sideshifters, slipsheet attachments, carton clamps, multipurpose clamps, rotators, fork positioners, carpet poles, pole handlers, container handlers, roll clamps and many others.

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Cast iron usually refers to grey cast iron, but can mean any of a group of iron-based alloys containing more than 2% carbon (alloys with less carbon are carbon steel by definition). ... Note: This page needs to be cleaned up to be brought into conformance with the Manual of Style. ... A modern road cars steering wheel Steering wheels from different periods A steering wheel is a type of steering control used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles. ... Leverage redirects here. ... Electrical switches. ... For automobile roofs, see Sunroof. ... A colored automobile engine The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of fuel and an oxidizer (typically air) occurs in a confined space called a combustion chamber. ... 45 kg LPG cylinders Liquefied petroleum gas (also called LPG, LP Gas, or autogas) is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as a fuel in heating appliances and vehicles, and increasingly replacing chlorofluorocarbons as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant to reduce damage to the ozone layer. ... Typical North America vehicles carry this diamond shape symbol, meaning it is running on compressed natural gas fuel. ... Petrol redirects here. ... Diesel or diesel fuel (IPA: ) in general is any fuel used in diesel engines. ... A valve-regulated, sometimes called sealed, lead acid battery Lead-acid batteries, invented in 1859 by French physicist Gaston Planté, are the oldest type of rechargeable battery. ... A fuel cell is an electrochemical device similar to a battery, but differing from the latter in that it is designed for continuous replenishment of the reactants consumed; i. ... Direct current (DC or continuous current) is the continuous flow of electricity through a conductor such as a wire from high to low potential. ... City lights viewed in a motion blurred exposure. ... Hydraulics is a branch of science and engineering concerned with the use of liquids to perform mechanical tasks. ...

Attachments

Below is a list of common forklift truck attachments:^[5]

• Sideshifter - is a hydraulic attachment that allows the operator to move the tines (forks) and backrest laterally. This allows easier placement of a load without having to reposition the truck.

• Rotator - To aid the handling of skids that may have become excessively tilted and other specialty material handling needs some forklifts are fitted with an attachment that allows the tines to be rotated. This type of attachment may also be used for dumping containers for quick unloading.

• Fork Positioner - is a hydraulic attachment that moves the tines (forks) together or apart. This removes the need for the operator to get out of the cab to manually adjust the tines (forks) for different sized loads.

• Roll and Barrel Clamp Attachment - A mechanical or hydraulic attachment that is used for handling barrels, kegs, or paper rolls. This type of attachment also usually have a rotate function so that a vertically stored paper roll can be inserted into the horizontal intake of a printing press.

• Pole Attachments - In some locations, such as carpet warehouses, a long metal pole is used instead of forks to lift carpet rolls. Similar devices, though much larger, are used to pick up metal coils.

• Carton and Multipurpose Clamp Attachments - are hydraulic attachment that allows the operator to open and close around a load squeezing it to pick it up. Products like cartons, boxes and bales can be moved with this type attachment. When used, the forklift truck is sometimes referred to as a clamp truck.

• Slip Sheet Attachment (Push - Pull) - is a hydraulic attachment that reaches forward, clamps onto a slipsheet and draws the slipsheet onto wide and thin metal forks for transport. The attachment will push the slip sheet and load off the forks for placement.

• Drum Handler Attachment - is a mechanical attachment that slides onto the tines (forks). It usually has a spring loaded jaw that grips the top lip edge of a drum for transport. Another type grabs around the drum in a manner similar to the roll or barrel attachments.

• Man Basket - a lift platform that slides onto the tines (forks) meant for hoisting workers. The man basket has railings and brackets for attaching safety harnesses.

Categories: Wikipedia cleanup | Stub ... Categories: Wikipedia cleanup | Stub ...

Forklift truck control and capabilities

Load capacity chart

‎ Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

Forklift trucks are available in many variations and load capacities. In a typical warehouse setting most forklifts used have load capacities between one to five tons. However, machines of over 50 tons lift capacity have been built.

In addition to a control to raise and lower the forks (also known as blades or tines), the operator can tilt the mast to compensate for a load's tendency to angle the blades toward the ground and risk slipping off the forks. Tilt also provides a limited ability to operate on non-level ground. Skilled forklift operators annually compete in obstacle and timed challenges at regional forklift rodeos.

General operations

A forklift driver in training

Forklifts are rated for loads at a specified maximum weight and a specified forward centre of gravity. This information is located on a nameplate provided by the manufacturer, and loads must not exceed these specifications(In Canada it is 24" Load Center). In many jurisdictions it is illegal to remove or tamper with the nameplate without the permission of the forklift manufacturer. Image File history File linksMetadata PeopleForklift. ... Image File history File linksMetadata PeopleForklift. ... In physics, the center of mass of a system of particles is a specific point at which, for many purposes, the systems mass behaves as if it were concentrated. ...

An important aspect of forklift operation is that many have rear-wheel steering. While this increases maneuverability in tight cornering situations, it differs from a driver’s traditional experience with other wheeled vehicles. While steering, as there is no caster action, it is unnecessary to apply steering force to maintain a constant rate of turn. θ is the caster angle, red line is the pivot line, grey area is the tire Caster (or castor) angle is the angular displacement from the vertical axis of the suspension of a steered wheel in a car or other vehicle, measured in the longitudinal direction. ...

Another critical characteristic of the forklift is its instability. The forklift and load must be considered a unit with a continually varying centre of gravity with every movement of the load. A forklift must never negotiate a turn at speed with a raised load, where centrifugal and gravitational forces may combine to cause a disastrous tip-over accident. The forklift are designed with a load limit for the forks which is decreased with fork elevation and undercutting of the load (i.e. load does not butt against the fork "L"). A loading plate for loading reference is usually located on the forklift. A forklift should not be used as a personnel lift without the fitting of specific safety equipment, such as a "cherry picker" or "cage". For the real outward-acting force that can be found in circular motion, see Reactive centrifugal force. ... Gravity is a force of attraction that acts between bodies that have mass. ...

Lift truck associations and organizations

There are many national as well as continental associations related to the industrial truck industry. Some of the major organizations are listed as:

• Industrial Truck Association (ITA) (North America)^[6]

• Fédération Européenne de la Manutention - European Federation of Materials Handling (FEM)^[7]

• British Industrial Truck Association (BITA)^[8]

• Japan Industrial Vehicles Association (JIVA)^[9]

• Korean Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association (KOCEMA)^[10]

There are many significant contacts among these organizations and they have established joint statistical and engineering programs. One program is the World Industrial Trucks Statistics (WITS) which is published every month to the association memberships. The statistics are separated by area (continent), country and class of machine. While the statistics are generic, and do not count production from most of the smaller manufacturers, the information is significant for its depth. These contacts have brought to a common definition of a Class System which all the major manufacturers adhere to. Animated, colour-coded map showing the various continents. ...

Forklift safety organizations

Standards

Forklift safety is subject to a variety of standards world wide. The most important standard is the ANSI B56—of which stewardship has now been passed from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to the Industrial Truck Standards Development Foundation after multi-year negotiations. ITSDF is a non-profit organization whose only purpose is the promulgation and modernization of the B56 standard.^[11] The American National Standards Institute or ANSI (pronounced an-see) is a nonprofit organization that oversees the development of standards for products, services, processes and systems in the United States. ...

Other standards have been implemented in the United States by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and in the United Kingdom by the Health and Safety Executive.^[12] In many countries forklift truck operators must be trained and certified to operate forklift trucks. Certification may be required for each individual class of lift that an operator would use. OSHA logo The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. ... The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), reporting to the Health and Safety Commission, is the British government body responsible for the regulation of risks to health and safety in the UK. It was created as a result of the Health and Safety at Work, etc, Act 1974, and has since...

Forklift Training in the United Kingdom

In the UK, Forklift Training is monitored by a number of different organisations, which all Forklift Instructors must be registered with at least one of them. Although R.T.I.T.B. insist on 2 yearly refresher training, the amount of time determined between refresher courses is subject to H&S Executives, Insurance companies or company policies. H&S Executives do recommend re-training every 2 years.

United Kingdom Forklift Instructors must be registered to one of the following;
Road Transport Industry Training Board LTD (RTITB)
Independent Training Standards Scheme and Register (ITSSAR)
National Plant Operators Registration Scheme (NPORS)
Association of Industrial Truck Trainers (AITT)
CITB-ConstructionSkills

There are various different training companies across the UK that can provide training on-site at your business premises, these can be independent instructors or part of a training company. There are also various training centre's across the United Kingdom that can provide individuals not already trained to use a Forklift Truck to help gain a licence.

In the United Kingdom training falls into four different categories;
REFRESHER - People who have gained a Forklift Training Certificate and need to be brought up to date with new laws and/or regulations.
CONVERSION - People who have been trained on a type of truck recently, and need to start using a different type.
SEMI-EXPERIENCED - People who are competent on a Forklift Truck, but have never been certificated.
NOVICE - Never been on a Forklift Truck before and never been certificated.
The courses can last for 1 day for a Refresher or a Conversion course, to 5 days for a Novice course. United Kingdom Forklift Instructors are allowed to train a maximum of Three People per day, this does not include classroom work. Pallet truck redirects here. ...

Manufacturer's worldwide ranking

Below are the top ten maufacturers of the Powered Industrial Trucks market in terms of worldwide sales for 2006 - 2007.^[13]

1. Toyota Industries (Japan)
2. KION Group (Germany) - Linde and Still brands
3. NACCO Industries, Inc. (USA) - Yale and Hyster brands
4. Jungheinrich (Germany)
5. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Japan) - Mitsubishi and Caterpillar brands
6. Crown Equipment Corporation (USA)
7. Cargotec (Finland) - Kalmar brand
8. Manitou (France)
9. Komatsu Limited (Japan)
10. Nissan Motor Company (Japan)

Toyota Industries Corporation (豊田自動織機, Toyota Jidō Shokki) TYO: 6201 is a Japanese machine maker, founded in 1926 by Sakichi Toyoda, it was originally called Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. ... KION Group is the name of a manufacturer of materials handling equipment (fork lift trucks etc. ... Linde Logo The Linde Group is the international industrial gases and engineering company founded in 1879. ... NACCO Industries, Inc. ... Hyster Company was a manufacturing company specializing in forklifts and other materials-handling equipment. ... Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd (MHI) (三菱重工業, Mitsubishi Jūkōgyō) TYO: 7011 is a Japanese company. ... For information on Mitsubishi brand computer monitors, see NEC-Mitsubishi Electronics Display of America Inc. ... Caterpillar Inc. ... Cargotec (Helsinki Stock Exchange: CGC) is a Finnish company that provides cargo-handling solutions for ships, ports, terminals and local distribution. ... Komatsu Limited ) or Komatsu Hanomag excavator in Germany Komatsu construction vehicle in New Orleans, Louisiana (USA) Komatsu (コマツ) (TYO: 6301) is a Japanese company that manufactures construction, mining, and military equipment, industry machinery such as press machines, lasers, and thermoelectric modules. ... Nissan, or Nissan Group (nichiyo-kai) was one of Japans most powerful business grouping, called keiretsu, founded by Yoshisuke Aikawa. ...

References

is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 169th day of the year (170th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Pallet
• Slip Sheet
• Pallet jack

A wooden pallet A plastic pallet with nine legs, which can be lifted from all four sides A Pallet can also be a small, hard, or temporary bed (a term heavily used in the southern United States to describe a makeshift bed consisting of a blanket and a pillow on... Categories: Wikipedia cleanup | Stub ... Manual pallet jack 3D model A pallet jack is a tool used to lift and move pallets. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Forklifts

Safety Information

• Preventing Injuries and Deaths of Workers Who Operate or Work Near Forklifts, an alert from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Safety and Health Topic: Powered Industrial Trucks, from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
• Making your Forklift Work for You: A Ten Minute Checklist for Managers & Supervisors, from WorkCover New South Wales (Australia)
• Forklift Safety Manual, from www.safetyculture.com
• Forklift LPG Cylinder Mounting, Proper cylinder mounting and LPG forklift cylinder safety.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. ... OSHA logo The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. ...

Forklift truck history

• UK article about forklift truck history Retrieved 15 January, 2006
• US article about forklift truck history Retrieved 15 January, 2006
• Pallet and Fork Truck History Intertwined: The History of the Fork Truck
• History of the Yale Forklift

[1] Contributor/Historian

United Kingdom - Forklift Training Organisations

• R.T.I.T.B. - Road Transport Industry Training Board
• ITSSAR - Independent Training Standards Scheme and Register
• N.P.O.R.S. - National Plant Operators Registration Scheme
• A.I.T.T. - Association of Industrial Truck Trainers
• C.I.T.B. - CITB - Construction Skills
• Health and Safety Executive - Health and Safety Executive
• Train to Gain - Government Funded & Backed SME's in England