Forklift Blog about Forklift Truck Information

History

The middle nineteenth century through the early twentieth 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.

Continuing development and expanded use of the forklift continued through the 1920s and 1930s. 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 models were made that filled this need. In 1956 Toyota introduced its first lift truck model, the Model LA, in Japan and sold its first forklift in the United States in 1967.

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:

forklift classes

*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, so-named because the forks can extend to reach the load)
*Electric counterbalanced truck
*IC counterbalanced truck
*Sideloader
*Telescopic handler
*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 or Bendi 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 pickcle Picker/ Stacker truck
*Truck Mounted Forklift / Sod Loader

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 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 wire guided and available with lift heights up to 40′ non top-tied and 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.

*Explosion proof trucks

These are for operation in potentially explosive atmospheres found in chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, food and drink, logistics or other industries handling flammable material. Commonly referred to as Pyroban trucks, in Europe they must meet the requirements of the ATEX 94/9/EC Directive if used in Zone 1, 2, 21 or 22 areas and be maintained accordingly.

In North America, internal combustion powered industrial vehicles carry Underwriters Laboratories ratings that are part of UL 558. Industrial trucks that are considered “explosion proof” carry the designations GS for gasoline powered, DS for diesel powered, LPS for liquified propane or GS/LPS for a dual fuel gasoline/liquified propane powered truck.

*U.S. Military 10K-AT “Adverse Terrain”

Automated forklift trucks

In order to decrease work wages, reduce operational cost and improve productivity, automated forklifts have also been developed. Automated forklifts are also called forked automated guided vehicles and are already available from a growing number of suppliers.

Counterbalanced Forklift Components

forklift truck

A typical counterbalanced forklift contains the following components:

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.

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.

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 ‘Cab’ can also be equipped with a Cab Heater for cold climate countries.

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 forklifts, the overhead guard is an integrated part of the frame assembly.

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 provides power to the electric motors. The electric motors used on a forklift 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.

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 driven hydraulically, and operated by one or more hydraulic cylinders directly or using chains from the cylinder/s. It may be mounted to the front axle or the frame of the forklift.

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.

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. Some attachments include sideshifters, slipsheet attachments, carton clamps, multipurpose clamps, rotators, fork positioners, carpet poles, pole handlers, container handlers and roll clamps.

Forklift Safety Organizations

StandardsForklift 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.

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. 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.

Forklift Training in the United KingdomIn the UK, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) state that operators of fork lift trucks must be adequately trained in their operation, but the nature of this training is not specified. Third party organisations have developed de-facto ‘best practice’ standards for forklift training, commonly referred to in the UK as a ‘forklift license’, but such training is not a legal requirement as is commonly believed. Organised training however helps to demonstrate that an employer has taken steps to ensure its ‘duty of care’ in the unfortunate event of an accident. The details below represent the de-facto standards proscribed by training organisations.

In the UK, Forklift Training is carried out 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. operators are registered on a database which has to be renewed a 3 yearly basis, the amount of time determined between refresher courses is subject to the H&S Executive, Insurance companies or company policies. The H&S Executive (HSG136 Workplace Transport Safety) does recommend re-training/testing every 3 to 5 years.

United Kingdom Forklift Instructors can be registered to one of the following, though registration is not compulsory to instruct;

RTITB

Independent Training Standards Scheme and Register (ITSSAR)
Association of Industrial Truck Trainers (AITT)
National Plant Operators Registration Scheme (NPORS)
CITB-ConstructionSkills
Lantra – Sector Skills Council for the environmental and land-based sector

There are various different training companies across the UK that can provide training on-site and off-site, 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 certificate of competence.

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. It is recommended that United Kingdom Forklift Instructors train a maximum of Three People per day, this does not include classroom work.