Section 1 Forklift Training Manual

FORKLIFT SAFETY TRAINING MANUAL • LESSON 1 • INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW TO FORKLIFTS

Lever Principles Levers are used as it applies to forklifts with the following illustration.

Levers are used every day: The principle of levers enables a balance of load and effort across a fulcrum point.

A simple way to see this principle is when changing a flat tire, the car is jacked up and a small amount of force is exerted over a long distance to make this possible.The jack handle moves a large distance, but the car moves upward only a short distance. A small amount of force is used to push the jack handle down, but a large amount of force raises the car.

Every time the jack handle is moved down 25 inches, the car raises only one hundredth as far, but with 100 times as much force.

Lesson 1 • Page 7