Operating Procedures
Know Your Lift Truck
The fork lift truck is designed to pick up and move materi-
als. The basic lift truck has a lift mechanism with forks on
the front to engage the load. The lift mechanism lifts the
load so that it can be moved and stacked.
In order to understand how the lift truck can pick up a load,
you must first know some basic things about the lift truck.
The lift truck is based on the principle of two weights bal-
anced on opposite sides of a pivot (fulcrum).
In order for this principle to work, the load on the forks must
be balanced by the weight of the lift truck and battery. The
weight of the battery is a major part of the total lift truck
weight. The location of the center of gravity of both the lift
truck and the load is also a factor. This basic principle is
used to pick up a load. The ability of the lift truck to handle
a load is discussed in terms of center of gravity and stabil-
ity.
Stability and Center of Gravity
The center of gravity (CG) of any object is
the single point about which the object is
balanced in all directions. Every object
has a CG. When the lift truck picks up a
load, the truck and load have a new com-
bined CG.
The stability of the lift truck is determined
by the location of its CG, or if the truck is
loaded, the combined CG. The lift truck has moving parts
and therefore has a CG that moves. The CG moves for-
ward and back as the forks are extended or retracted or as
the mast is tilted. The CG moves up and down as the mast
moves up and down. The center of gravity, and therefore
the stability of the loaded lift truck, is affected by a number
of factors, such as size, weight, shape, and position of the
Operating Procedures
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