In industries and warehouses, it is impractical to move heavy weight machinery and equipment from one place to the other by lifting by men. Therefore, forklift trucks are used to move materials over shorter distance because these are purpose-built powerful trucks. In many countries, forklift truck operators need forklift license and special certifications at industrial standard because any incident can cause disaster in the form of damage or an injury. It impels the need of super trained operators with knowledge of the working technique of forklift and its operational implications. The major factor of forklift operation is its instability that is; the load and forklift must be united with the movement of load at the continually varying centre of gravity and it must be made sure that lift it not turned at a high speed with a raised load. Otherwise centrifugal and gravitational forces may add up to cause a tip-over accident.
Different variants of forklifts are manufactured with a major factor of maximum weight forklift lifting capability and forward centre of gravity. Usually, this information is written on a label attached to the body of forklift somewhere and it is illegal to tamper or remove that label without consent of the manufacturer. Exceeding the mentioned weight can lead to a big loss so it is necessary to always choose a forklift according to the required weight in an industry. As industries are on a go in New Zealand, forklifts operators are also very much in demand because it is illegal to operate a forklift without forklift license New Zealand.
A very valid question may arise in one‘s mind is that why forklift needs a separate license and why not a car license holder is eligible to operate a forklift by getting relevant industrial training. The answer to this question is the forklift operation. Generally, a forklift is a rear wheel steering vehicle and the reason for using this mechanism is to increase the maneuverability in tight cornered situations. Therefore it is different from the driver’s experience with other vehicles and a little mistake can end up in huge loss. This is the reason; industries in developed countries have legislated to mandatory have a forklift license for operating forklifts and have imposed heavy fines for breaching of licensing requirements. Also, companies are required to make sure that drivers under treatment for chronic treatment are not assigned duties for a long time.
