Offline. Sign-offs save on this phone.

Toolbox Talks

Telehandlers and forklifts: read the load chart

Telehandlers and forklifts: read the load chart

Vehicles and backing 5 min 29 CFR 1926.602 · 29 CFR 1926.1400

Masonry, Carpentry

Why it matters

A telehandler can lift a pallet of block 40 feet in the air, but how much it can safely hold drops fast as the boom goes out. Tip-overs happen when operators guess, extend too far, or drive with the load up. When the machine goes over, the operator and anyone nearby are in its path.

The talk

The telehandler is the busiest machine on a lot of jobs. It sets trusses, feeds the masons, and moves everything else. That is why it gets pushed. The operator picks up a cube of block close in and it feels fine. Then he booms out to reach the scaffold and the back wheels get light. Or he drives across a slope with the load raised. Or a second worker adds one more bundle because it's just a few feet. A machine that feels steady at one spot can tip at another with the very same load.

Every lift truck has to show its rated capacity where the operator can see it, and that rating can't be passed. On a telehandler, that is the load chart in the cab. It shows how much the machine can hold at each boom angle and reach, and with each attachment. Nobody adds a counterweight, a homemade attachment, or a fork extension that changes capacity without the maker's written okay. Only trained and evaluated operators run it. One more thing: if a telehandler is set up with a hook or winch to hang a load and move it sideways, the crane rules can apply.

Here is how to run it. Know the weight of what you are lifting, and find that load on the chart for the reach you need. Level the frame before you raise the boom, and use the outriggers if the machine has them. Travel with the boom down and the load low. Go slow on slopes and rough ground, and never turn on a slope with the load up. Keep people out from under the boom and the load. Use the attachment the chart covers. If the overload alarm sounds, bring the load back in, don't push through it. Wear the seat belt so you stay inside the cab if it tips.

Key points

  1. Capacity drops fast as the boom goes out and up.
  2. The rated capacity must be posted where the operator can see it.
  3. Never pass the load chart for the reach and attachment you are using.
  4. No add-ons that change capacity without the maker's written okay.
  5. Only trained and evaluated operators run lift trucks.
  6. Level the frame and travel with the load low.
  7. A telehandler hanging a load from a hook may fall under crane rules.

Do this

  • Find the load weight and check it on the chart before the pick.
  • Level the machine before raising the boom.
  • Travel with the boom retracted and the load low.
  • Keep people out from under the boom and load.
  • Wear the seat belt every time.

Do not do this

  • Do not guess the weight of a load.
  • Do not drive with the load raised high.
  • Do not turn on a slope with a load up.
  • Do not add counterweight or fork extensions the maker didn't approve.
  • Do not jump out if it starts to tip. Stay belted in.

Talk about it

  1. What are the heaviest loads we lift this week, and how far out can we reach with them?
  2. Who on this job is trained and cleared to run the telehandler?

This is a short crew briefing. It does not replace a competent person, training, or the law.

Training aid only. This talk is not legal advice. It does not replace your company's safety program, a competent person, the equipment maker's instructions, or the OSHA standard itself.

Blank sign-in sheet

Name Signature Time