Who this course is for
- Forklift operators in warehouses, yards, factories and distribution sites
- Stores and dispatch teams who load and offload delivery vehicles
- Production staff who feed lines and move palletised stock
- Supervisors who have to appoint competent forklift operators
What you will be able to do after this course
- Carry out pre-use and daily inspections on a counterbalanced lift truck
- Apply the load centre and stability triangle to decide what the truck can lift
- Pick, travel with, stack and destack loads safely, including in racking
- Refuel or recharge, park and shut the truck down correctly
What the course covers
The course works through the Occupational Health and Safety Act Driven Machinery Regulations as they apply to lift trucks, then through the truck and the stability rules that govern it.
Learners cover truck components and controls, pre-use and daily inspections, the load centre, capacity plate and stability triangle, picking up and setting down loads, travelling with a load and on ramps, stacking and destacking in racking, loading and offloading vehicles, working around pedestrians in a shared space, refuelling and battery charging, and correct parking and shutdown. The operating work is assessed practically on the truck.
How you are assessed and what you receive
Assessment covers a written knowledge test and a practical on the truck, where the learner inspects the machine and then picks, travels with, stacks and destacks loads under supervision. On successful completion the learner is certificated against SAQA unit standard 242974, and the certificate can be downloaded from the Fundza portal as well as issued directly.
What this certificate is worth
Forklifts work in shared space with people more than almost any other machine, which is why competence is checked at nearly every warehouse and factory induction. The certificate proves the operator is competent in terms of the Driven Machinery Regulations. Learners can download it from the Fundza portal whenever a client or auditor asks.
Duration, dates and fees
| Option | Duration | Fee | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full course | 5 Days | R6,010 | First-time certification |
| Refresher | 1 Day | R1,204 | Already certified, renewing |
On-site delivery at your own premises is available and is usually the better option for a team, because the practical work is done in your own aisles and racking. For group bookings, tell us how many people need certifying and where they are based.
Where and how the training runs
Training runs at the Fundza Training Institute centre in Mokopane, and on site at your own warehouse or plant. On-site delivery is generally better for a stores team, since racking height, aisle width and traffic layout are the things that make the job risky and they differ everywhere. For a group booking, tell us how many people need certifying and where they are based, and we will come back with dates and a quotation.
Forklift and telehandler: how they differ
| Counter-balanced lift truck (this course) | Telescopic boom handler | |
|---|---|---|
| What it certifies | Fixed-mast counterbalanced forklift | Telescopic boom machine with variable reach |
| Unit standard | SAQA 242974 | SAQA 260781 |
| Where it is used | Warehouses, yards and factories | Construction, mining and agricultural sites |
| Key skill | Load centre and stacking in racking | Reading a load chart as reach changes |
Capacity on a forklift is governed by the load centre; on a telehandler it changes as the boom extends. That difference is why one certificate does not cover both.
Where this course can take you
Forklift operation sits inside the materials handling stack at Fundza. Operators commonly add Telescopic Boom Handler Operator for site work, or Slings Load and Sling and Communicate where loads have to be rigged rather than forked. Browse the full range of lifting machinery training.
Enquire about this course
Tell us how many people need certifying and where they are based, and we will come back with dates and a quotation.