Truck Types & Attachments

What defines a counterbalance lift truck?

• AThe load is carried on a telescopic boom that extends forwards and upwards
• BThe forks reach forward on a moving mast positioned between two stabilising outrigger legs
• CThe operator walks alongside the truck on foot rather than riding on board the machine
• DThe load is carried ahead of the front wheels, balanced by a weight at the rear✓

Answer: No outriggers or legs — the truck balances the load using its own weight and a counterweight behind the rear axle, pivoting about the front axle. That layout is what lets it drive straight up to a rack or into a trailer, and it is also why the stability triangle and the load centre matter so much on this type.

What is the main advantage of a reach truck over a counterbalance truck?

• AIt can lift substantially heavier loads at the same rated load centre
• BIt can be used outdoors on rough ground where a counterbalance truck cannot
• CIt needs no operator training because the mast movement is fully automated
• DIt works in much narrower aisles, as the mast reaches forward to place the load✓

Answer: A reach truck carries the load between its stabilising legs and extends the mast forward only to pick up or place, so it needs far less aisle width and stores more in the same footprint. The trade-off is that it is an indoor machine for flat floors, and it handles quite differently — which is why it needs its own training rather than being treated as a forklift.

An operator trained on a counterbalance truck is asked to use a reach truck. What is required?

• AOnly familiarisation training, as the basic skills are directly transferable
• BNothing, as the certificate of basic training covers all lift truck types
• CA short verbal briefing from the supervisor at the start of the shift
• DConversion training and assessment on that type before they operate it✓

Answer: Training is specific to the type of truck. A reach truck's controls, stability behaviour and visibility are genuinely different, and assuming the skills transfer is how experienced operators have accidents on unfamiliar machines. Conversion training plus assessment comes first, then specific job and familiarisation training for the site and the loads.

How does fitting an attachment such as a clamp or rotator affect a truck's capacity?

• AIt affects only the lifting speed rather than the safe working load
• BIt increases it, because the attachment grips the load far more securely than forks do
• CIt leaves it unchanged, because the data plate figure already covers all attachments
• DIt usually reduces it — the attachment adds weight and moves the load centre out✓

Answer: An attachment is itself a load the truck must carry, hung on the front where leverage is greatest, and it usually pushes the load's centre of gravity further from the fork carriage as well. Both effects cut the safe capacity, sometimes substantially. Never assume the plate figure still applies once something is bolted to the carriage.

What must be in place when a lift truck is fitted with an attachment?

• ACapacity information for that truck and attachment combination✓
• BA new thorough examination carried out on the day the attachment is fitted
• CWritten permission from HSE to operate the modified lift truck
• DA second operator to observe every lift made using the attachment

Answer: The operator has to know what the truck can safely lift as configured, so there must be capacity information — usually an additional plate or chart — for that specific truck and attachment combination. The operator also needs training on the attachment. Fitting one and continuing to work to the original plate is a common and dangerous shortcut.

What is a pedestrian-operated pallet truck's most significant hazard?

• AIt generates hydrogen gas continuously the whole time that it is being driven
• BThe operator walking beside it can be crushed against racking or a wall✓
• CIt has a much higher centre of gravity than a conventional counterbalance truck
• DIt cannot be stopped once it has started moving with a load

Answer: The operator is on foot, at the same level as the machine, often walking backwards while steering a heavy load. Crushing injuries against racking, walls and other equipment are the characteristic accident, along with feet run over by the wheels. Controls with a belly button or reverse safety switch exist for this reason, and they must not be defeated.

What is a telescopic materials handler (telehandler) mainly used for?

• ALifting people as a routine alternative to a mobile elevating work platform
• BMoving pallets in narrow warehouse aisles at high speed
• CPlacing loads at reach and height on construction and agricultural sites✓
• DTowing trailers and other equipment around a site

Answer: A telehandler uses a telescopic boom rather than a vertical mast, so it can place loads forward and up — reaching onto a scaffold or over an obstacle. That reach is exactly what makes its stability different: extending the boom moves the load's centre of gravity a long way forward, and the load chart for each configuration has to be followed.

What is a side-loading lift truck designed to carry?

• ALoads carried on a platform for people working at height
• BLoads that are simply too heavy for a conventional counterbalance lift truck to handle
• CLoads that have to be turned upside down in order to be emptied out at the destination
• DLong loads such as timber or steel, carried along the length of the truck✓

Answer: A side-loader picks up and carries long loads lengthways on a bed alongside the mast, which lets it travel down aisles that a counterbalance truck carrying the same timber or steel could never turn into. Since 2002 side-loading trucks that carry the operator, on one side only, are among the types required to have an operator restraining system.

When may fork extensions be used?

• AWhenever the load is light, since extensions affect only long heavy loads
• BWhenever a load is longer than the standard forks fitted to the truck
• COnly if they extend the forks by no more than double their original length
• DOnly where the manufacturer permits them, with capacity reduced accordingly✓

Answer: Extensions move the load's centre of gravity further out, which reduces safe capacity, and they impose loads the forks were not designed for. They are used only where the manufacturer permits, within the stated limits, with revised capacity information and an operator who knows the new figure. "The load is longer than the forks" is the reason people reach for them, not authorisation to use them.

Why is a rough-terrain lift truck unsuitable for normal warehouse work?

• AIt has no mast, so it cannot place loads into racking at any height
• BIts rated capacity is far too low for the palletised loads handled in most warehouses
• CIt cannot lift loads above about one metre from the ground, so racking is out of reach
• DIts size, exhaust emissions and large tyres suit outdoor sites, not indoor aisles✓

Answer: Rough-terrain trucks are built for construction sites and yards — big pneumatic tyres, high ground clearance, usually a diesel engine. Indoors that means a machine too large for the aisles, exhaust emissions in an enclosed space, and tyres that mark floors. Matching the truck to the environment is part of selecting suitable work equipment under PUWER.