There could be some situations where you need to rent a forklift. Renting happens when there is a seasonal peak period in the business, work upsurge to transport more goods, or because an existing truck has broken down and being repaired.
If you are renting, have you ever thought of is operator license required to operate a rental forklift? There are confusions circulating about this in some forums or you may have already heard this topic from colleagues. We will try to enlighten you about this concern.
First, please don’t get confused, the forklift licenses many people are referring to is actually an operator card that shows the name of the operator, date of the evaluation, type of forklift training, the name of the instructor or company that conducted the training. This license is issued by the trainer upon successful completion of the program. The person shall be given a license/card as proof of his qualification.
As per OSHA requirement, anyone in the workplace who will operate a forklift needs the appropriate training and certification and hence a license. As a renter, you have to make sure that you assign a worker who is certified using that type of rental forklift. If you don’t have a qualified operator, the rental company can assist in providing your worker with the necessary training or even supply you with a certified operator for an additional cost.
The rental company must know the prevailing OSHA requirement and be able to pass this knowledge on to the renter, who, in most circumstances, may not be aware of that specific law. Please read this law of OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.178 Powered Industrial Truck.
Failure of the rental company to disclose this requirement to the renter may find themselves in trouble in the event the renter had an accident as a cause of an untrained operator using the rental forklift. If the renter can prove that the rental company did not tell this, the liability might go to the rental company.
How to Get Forklift Certified in Order to Obtain a License
If your worker or you who will operate the rental forklift doesn’t have a license, you may be thinking how do you get one. Prior to renting, you can preplan the scheduling of the training. You can contact your nearest training school or even the rental company itself, they will be glad to assist with this matter.
The course is composed of formal training which also called it classroom lectures, practical training or hands-on exercises and lastly the performance evaluation which could be done by administering the written and/or practical tests.
Please do keep in mind that forklift training should be equipment-specific, this means if you want to rent and operate a 3- wheeled counterbalance forklift, the course should tackle the specifics of that type of machine and that the hands-on exercise should be done on the same type. The site-specific training should be considered as well in the program.
At the end of the course, a forklift license and certificate of training will be given to you upon successful evaluation. The certificate indicates you have been trained and evaluated to use the forklift safely.
Online training can be a convenient way to obtain the training, there are providers that supply this such course. In my opinion, the online can only provide you the formal instruction, you still need to take the practical training and get your performance evaluated by a qualified instructor.
Important Things to Know When Renting a Forklift
When renting a forklift, there are many things to put into the account in order to get the best value of your money and that the equipment gets the job done efficiently and safely. There are some questions need to be answered before you delve into finding a rental company. Here are some of the common concerns:
- What type of forklift do you need for the application? First of all, you must know what type of forklift suited for your particular application as there are several of them. Electric Rider Forklifts, Narrow Aisle Forklifts, Motorized Hand Forklifts, Sit-down rider forklifts, Vertical Masted Rough Terrain truck, Piggy Back Lifts, order picker, counterbalance; they also differ whether it is run with internal combustion engine (for outdoor use), LPG-powered (for indoor use) or electric powered (for indoor use as well and if you choose this, do you have battery charger?).
- What is the weight of the materials/loads it will handle? Prior to renting, you must determine the heaviest load it will carry in your workplace so that you can specify the weight capacity of the forklift you want to rent and tell this to the rental company. The weight capacity is important information that will be asked from you upon inquiry; you don’t want to waste money and time for rent just to find out the truck cannot carry the load if it has the incorrect weight capacity.
- What is the maximum lift height of the forklift so that it can carry the load to that specified height? It is also an important detail, similar to weight capacity metric, it must be accurately determined, otherwise, you will end up with a truck that would not reach the intended height where to put the load.
- What is the condition or road surface the truck will be driven on? This is to determine what type of tire should your rental forklift has. There are three basic types, cushion, solid pneumatic, and air-filled pneumatic tires. The cushion tire is ideal for indoor and even surface conditions; this type offers much more maneuverability but with a small turning radius. The solid pneumatic is suited for both indoor and outdoor use because of rigidness to run on different surfaces, this type is common and its use lasts long. The air-filled pneumatic type, as its name implies is filled with air just like the tires in your car. Its indented use is on rough road condition outdoor.
- How long you want to rent the forklift? Do make your plan ahead of time so that you can determine how long you want to rent the equipment. The cost of the rent is on a regular 8-hour per day, 40-hour per week, 160-hour per month basis or in a specified contract. The per-day basis is less expensive if you will rent the truck for a long period. Since there is this restriction usage, it will be helpful to organize your work to make the equipment moving in the workplace, doing so will shorten the period you end up paying for the rental forklift.
- Do I have to shoulder the maintenance and pay for the damage if it incurred during the equipment is in my care? As your responsibility as a renter, you are tasked to do minor maintenance such as routinely checking the fluid level and ensuring the machine is in good working order. But prior to agreeing with the contract, it is vital to discuss with the rental company about your responsibilities so that you have a smooth understanding of the maintenance. And just like renting a car, you will be the one who will shoulder the cost of repair for any damage that may occur while the equipment is in under your possession.
- How will the truck be delivered to the workplace? As a good piece of advice, let the rental company transport the forklift to your workplace even the delivery fee may add up to the cost. In this way, you will be assured of nothing will happen to the equipment during transport as it must be loaded and unloaded securely. Just let the rental company do it.
- Do you need a certified forklift operator to man the machine? Yes, just like we explain, a trained and certified forklift operator is the only one authorized to operate the equipment. If you don’t have a trained operator in your fleet, do train one of them prior to renting a forklift. The rental company can supply the company for an additional fee or hire an outside consultant to train the worker on-site.
To Conclude This
Safe operation is always the number one priority this is the main reason why an operator license is required to operate a rental forklift. The operator must be certified prior to using the equipment, otherwise, it is a serious risk to let somebody drive the machine. If something goes wrong as a result of an untrained operator, you may be held liable for the fines and/or penalties.
Talk to the dealer or rental company about your requirement, they will be happy assisting you. They have a training package readily can be supplied to you or your operator.
Keep the workplace safe!
