A forklift (also called a lift truck, stacker truck or a rider operated stacking truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and transport materials. It is one of the most dangerous means of transport and as a result all operators are required to undergo instruction in the safe use of these machines.
Candidates who have received accredited training will need to do a refresher course within 3 years for their training to remain accredited. Some companies opt to conduct “in house” training. This means that the instructor is one of their own employees and has been trained to deliver courses for the machine types he is qualified to use. This can work very well for large companies to control the quality of their employees’ driving skills but can sometimes put undue pressure on the instructor to pass trainees who are not quite up to the required standard or to shorten the course duration to suit the company’s financial or commercial requirements. The other disadvantage of “in house” training is that the “in house” trainer usually has a “day job” within the company and sometimes the company may find it difficult to release him from his normal role to conduct training courses.
Most companies choose to bring in an independent training provider to conduct accredited training either on their site or at the provider’s site. Accredited training is a formalised type of training laid out in a logical and structured sequence which is delivered by qualified instructors and endorsed by a relevant governing body. Stackers is accredited with the Road Transport Industry Training Board (RTITB) – see their website for more information www.rtitb.co.uk
Other accrediting bodies are:
• LANTRA (lantra.co.uk)
• CITB (citb.co.uk)
• ITSSAR (itssar.org.uk)
• NPORS (npors.com)
• AITT (aitt.co.uk)
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