Lesson player

A pre-operation inspection takes about four minutes and catches most of the faults that cause workplace incidents. Work through it in the same order every time so nothing gets skipped when you're in a hurry.

The seven checks

• Tyres and wheels — cuts, embedded debris, correct pressure.
• Forks — cracks at the heel, bent tips, locking pins seated.
• Hydraulic hoses — chafing, weeping seals, pooled fluid underneath.
• Mast and chains — even tension, no kinked links.
• Horn, lights, and alarm — audible and visible from 10 metres.
• Data plate — legible, and the rated capacity matches today's load.
• Seatbelt — retracts cleanly and latches.

Log the result before you move the truck. An unlogged inspection counts as no inspection.

The load centre is the horizontal distance from the fork face to the load's centre of gravity. Every truck's data plate is rated at a specific load centre — usually 500 mm.