Trying to Decide Which Forklift Truck or Fleet to Use?

Forklift Training

In order to make the complex decision on the purchase of a forklift truck, it will take more than simple knowledge of technicalities to make your choice. The forklift truck that you require may have similar features to another, but has one small difference that changes everything. The right choice will help to increase your business and your productivity.


We will help you navigate the confusing world of Forklift Truck shopping but one bit of advice you should heed is to do your research thoroughly first. You may have been given training in this regard before you got a forklift truck license but most likely they will have only given you the basics pertaining to general forklift truck purposes. So I will go over a few points you need to consider before making any decisions.

First, examine your business needs and match the performance and specifications of the forklift you are purchasing. By using dealers or sales people who understand the industry you work in, and the type of business that you do, the odds are in your favor of finding the perfect forklift truck. Think about not only the type of products you will be moving, but the size of the warehouse they are stored in.

Having a forklift that can handle the loads yet not be able to navigate through the floor would not work. Also consider the workload that a normal truck would do on a normal shift. If the forklift you are considering can handle that workload in the space that you have available, then you are on the right track.

Talk to other people, besides the salesman, about what the forklift is capable of, perhaps they can give you a review from a customer's point of view. When asking questions, make sure to include things such as how easily it can be repaired, the ease of operating, the design on the forklift and how it affects the workload, and any other relevant information to your industry.

Second, look at the dealer that you are purchasing from. Are they a quality dealer that is well known and respected, or is it some guy selling it from his backyard? Will they be able to fix it if necessary? What about maintenance? Are they local, or are they located in several places? If you're business is local, then purchasing from a local dealer can be a great option. However, if you are a nationally used company, you may want to reconsider if you would have to bring the forklift back 3000 miles just to fix a part.

Another important aspect is to ensure that the dealer knows what he is talking about. Anyone can read information off of a piece of paper, but does the salesman truly understand the product? Will he be able to assist you will fleet management? These are all important questions to ask.

Finally, the total cost of ownership takes all of the information together in one shot. Examining the purchase price plus any maintenance and of course the forklift training course that will be needed to operate the forklift, minus the increased productivity and profits that are made from the the vehicle. If the end justifies the means, then you have yourself the forklift truck that you were meant to buy. Take all of the factors that we have discussed and then make the best decision for you and your business. To get some advice visit http://www.aftt.co.uk/.

What’s So Good About Electric Forklift Trucks

Forklift Truck

You can get many types of forklift trucks in warehouse settings but one of the more popular choices in terms of how they are powered is electrical forklifts. They may cost a small fortune to buy but it's certainly a cheaper forklift to run as they are just powered off a battery which is charged up after use every day.

They are also a lot quieter than fuel powered forklift trucks which are a godsend when working indoors as the noise from some of them can be quite annoying.

They also require less machinery parts to run which means that maintenance on these types of forklifts are a lot easier to deal with. Someone who goes on a forklift training course is given full instruction when it comes to maintaining such vehicles but this tends to be for the upkeep rather than a full repair job. However, the upkeep on these is fairly simple too so this means that there is less likely to be mistakes made in this area.

Now this next point this may not be on a company's top agenda but they are actually quite environmentally friendly unlike the fuel powered forklift trucks which emit carbon monoxide. This apparently adds to the greenhouse effect which adversly effects climate change and global warming.

In fact both gas and diesel powered forklift trucks shouldn’t be used indoors anyway because there is a health and safety issue due to carbon monoxide building up to dangerous levels in confined spaces. This could lead to carbon monoxide poisoning for many of the staff which is obviously of major concern. Despite the fact that the warehouse or similar building may have very good ventilation it's still a big issue and so the only sensible choice companies have is to use electric forklift trucks. For more information about Forklift Trucks training visit www.aftt.co.uk.

When forklift truck drivers go on forklift training courses one of the segments on the course is related to health and safety as forklift trucks can be dangerous in themselves if not handled properly. Some courses even have first aid as part of the syllabus because it's important to understand how to deal with a situation when someone gets injured, even when having inhaled poisonous fumes.

Speaking of hazards having fuel such as gas or diesel stored on the premises is a high risk and breaks several health and safety regulations unless stored safely away from the building. This of course ends up costing the company more money for specially designed fuel storage so where a company may have saved on the cost of the forklift they end up losing through the added expense.

Electric Forklift Truck - Reviews

Now it’s not all good news when it comes to electric forklift trucks as they aren’t good in rain or areas where there is much water as this can short out the forklift. So it’s a strictly indoors vehicle unless it happens to be nice and sunny outside.

You may have needed to build a fuel storage area but for electric forklifts they also need an area setup in the warehouse for the charging and replacing of batteries. A good battery will only last around six hours on a good run  but takes a good eight hours to charge. You also have to leave them for several hours to cool down as well which delays their use further.

This means that batteries have to be replaced every shift which isn’t a problem but need to be counted into the overall running costs of using an electric forklift as one battery won’t do.

So those are a few benefits to running an electric forklift over other powered forklift trucks and should help you see the reasons why electric forklifts are used so much in warehouses today.

Getting A Forklift Truck License

When it comes to driving any vehicle one requirement is that you have a license and for good reason too as thousands of accidents happen every year and that's with people who have been trained to drive. Can you imagine what the roads would be like if there was no regulation to learn how to drive the vehicles properly. I can assure you that these figures would be ten-fold or more so it's important to go through the correct channels when it comes to operating any vehicle. Besides it is against the law not to get a license for driving a vehicle so it's a no brainer that you put aside some money to take lessons and pass the test when ready.

You may be thinking that licenses apply to vehicle on the road only but this is not the case as off road vehicles also fall under the same umbrella. If you take fork lift trucks for example, they usually operate in and out of warehouses but without proper training you could quite easily end up injuring yourself or others in the process.

The good news is that there are plenty of training schools ready to help get you qualified and in terms of forklift truck training the most common license people opt for is for the counter balanced forklift truck. In fact just like there are various grades of lorry licenses there are also different forklift licenses as well. Once you get your counter balanced forklift license you can't just hop onto a terrain forklift as the two handle differently and are used for different tasks. You can however progress onto other forklift licenses by taking what's called conversion training which usually takes one to two days and at the end of it you will be qualified to drive other forklift related machinery.

The best fork lift truck training companies offer training for all types of forklift licenses and it's advisable to speak with a trainer beforehand if you are unsure which type of forklift license you should go for first. As I said the counter balanced forklift truck license is the most common license and will allow you to load and unload pallets of goods which is widely used in a warehouse setting. It's also one of the easier forklifts to train for and is a great asset when applying for jobs in warehouses and other industrial places. Check out aftt.co.uk to get an idea on Forklift Truck training benefits.

You may have had previous experience with other industrial type vehicles such as tractors and diggers but with no actual prior experience of forklifts I'm afraid you will have to take the full course which usually lasts around five days. It does help though if you have had experience with other off road vehicles and will put you in good stead to pass the exam with flying colors. Having said that, there is no need to have any experience at all with any type of equipment as the training provides every skill you need to pass the test.

For those of you that have had prior forklift experience you can short cut your training with taking courses that last between one and three days depending on what the trainer deems is necessary from your circumstances. For example, you may have switched jobs and not needed to use a forklift for a number of years and then changed jobs again where you do. In this instance you have already been trained up to use a forklift but may be a little rusty in maneuver the vehicle so need a one day course to bring you back up to speed. Whatever your level of experience there will be a training program to match which is great for both novice and experienced drivers.

No matter which forklift truck training license you go for the courses usually entail a detailed walk through at the beginning so everyone knows what to expect. You will need to book some time off work as the training does take up a good part of the day and will be over the course of one to five days.

As far as choosing a forklift truck training company goes you want to make sure you pick one which is accredited and to make life easier you can check out the list of companies on the RTITB website which is the governing board for forklift training and it stands for The Road Transport Industry Training Board. The best training websites should have their accreditation in full view along with any other registered bodies.

It is worth getting prices from several forklift truck training companies as the costs do vary so you could end up getting a better deal than you would by visiting the first website you come to. What you do want to do is make sure that the training company offers a wide range of forklift courses as you don't want to have to go to a different training school each time.

Once you narrow down who you want to get training from give them a call and ask them any questions you need answering. Good trainers are usually more than happy to help with any enquiries you may have and will be able to point you in the right direction in terms of choosing the forklift license which is right for you.