Your Complete Guide to Forklift Weight Capacity

Sometimes it’s easy to tell when to upgrade equipment. For example, an aerial lift or electric tug may stop working altogether and need to be replaced. But other times, it can be harder to tell if an upgrade is necessary. So here are some common telltales that it’s time for an update:

A warehouse can be filled with safety hazards which, if left unchecked, can cause serious harm to your employees or visitors.

4. You’re having difficulty tracking stock. This may be a sign that your current inventory tracking system isn’t sufficient. You may need to update your inventory software to help future-proof your business.

5. You’re unable to implement new technology. Working technology is essential to a well-functioning warehouse. At times, you may need to upgrade to faster internet or make electrical upgrades to run the software or tools you need to keep your warehouse operating optimally.

6. There’s not enough space. As your business grows, you may find that there’s no longer enough space in your warehouse to store inventory like returns. This calls for adding more space or upgrading to a modern racking system that is more space efficient.

7. Your dock is getting blocked up. If your loading dock starts having scheduling issues or you notice an increase in worker accidents or delivery slowing down, it may be time to upgrade to new scheduling software.

8. Overall productivity is decreasing. Sometimes overall productivity at your business may start to fall. This could happen for a variety of reasons, but one reason might be your warehouse equipment. For example, you may need to rearrange pathways or get a new tracking system.

Did you know that most forklifts can get up to a max speed of 10 MPH? That may not sound very fast, but it’s more than enough speed for a tragic accident. Someone could end up hurt or worse, and your business could suffer costly damage to machinery, supplies, and infrastructure.

In this article, we’ll go over why forklift speed matters. Specifically, we’ll cover official regulations, why it’s important to set your own speed limits, how to set them, and more.

You may be surprised to learn that, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), “OSHA does not have specific speed limits set for the safe operation of a powered industrial truck.” That said, OSHA does have regulations for how forklifts should be operated. These include the following:

Furthermore, there are industry standards that you may want to follow. For example, the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association suggests a “maximum allowable speed of a forklift truck is 8 mph, but in areas where pedestrians move about, the forklift should not move faster than 3 mph.”

Just because there’s not an official forklift speed limit doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set your own. Forklifts can weigh anywhere from 3,000 to 20,000 pounds. Even at low speeds, they carry a lot of force and momentum.

On a similar note, forklifts can require a lot of stopping distance. At 4 MPH, the average forklift needs over 17 feet to come to a full stop. At 8 MPH, it needs 42 feet. Of course, this will vary between machines, so use a calculator to find out how much stopping distance is needed.

Failure to take these factors in mind increases the risk of safety hazards. For one, you could hit people, equipment, or infrastructure. In fact, workers getting hit by forklifts is one of the top causes of lift-truck-related work injuries. When you speed, you risk losing control of the vehicle, not seeing obstacles in time, and tipping over.

This can not only result in tragic accidents but costly fines, penalties, and losses. For example, you may be required to pay OSHA fines, incur expensive medical and legal bills, suffer costly downtime, and damage your reputation among employees and customers.

Setting a forklift speed limit is a balancing act. You want to prioritize safety, but you also want to meet your production goals. Often, the two work against each other. The faster you drive, the faster you can work, but the more dangerous the work becomes.

Our recommendation is to err on the side of caution. It’s better to take things slow than to risk a serious accident that could lead to someone getting hurt or worse and put you behind schedule.

When setting your speed limit, here are some things to consider:

The simplest way you can slow forklift speeds is to properly train operators. This should teach how to drive slowly and with caution, use your horn to alert others of your position, check your blind posts, keep a reasonable stopping distance, maintain a clear view, carry loads low to the ground, and obey traffic laws when driving on regular roads. You can develop an in-house program or outsource it to a professional

Once you have forklift speed regulations in place, you need to enforce them by warning and disciplining noncompliant operators. Of course, there are ways you can be encouraging, too. For example, you could set up speed limit signs across the warehouse, even radar ones that flash “slow down” when passing forklifts exceed the speed limit.

You can apply physical impairments, like speed bumps, or even install mechanical or electronic forklift speed controls. These devices force forklifts to stay under a custom speed limit that you set.

Whatever you do, make forklift safety a priority across the company so everyone knows what’s expected.

According to Fortune Business Insights, the global market for forklift trucks was 1.4 million units in 2021 and is projected to reach 1.9 million units in 2028, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.3%.

Warehouses use forklifts to move stock, businesses use them to load and unload cargo trucks, and retailers use them to pick orders. And, as the world increasingly adopts ecommerce, the need for forklifts will continue to grow.

However, with all the benefits that forklifts bring to businesses come some risks. If used incorrectly, forklifts can lead to serious consequences.

Fortunately, such accidents can be avoided. Keep reading to learn how much weight a forklift can handle, the risks to equipment and stock of overloading a forklift, the potential injuries caused by overloaded forklifts, and what to do if a forklift tips over.

The necessity of forklift safety isn’t necessarily the easiest to understand. That’s why many warehouses struggle to draw a line between productive shortcuts and recommended best practices, asking questions like:

Forklifts vary widely in their load capacity. On the low end, some forklifts can carry only up to about 3,000 lbs. On the high end, some forklifts can hold up to over 50,000 lbs.

As a forklift driver, it’s your job to know your forklift’s load capacity and stick to it.

Once you’ve established how much your forklift can lift, ensure that your load is under the limit. You can usually do this by reading the load’s label. If not, you may need to manually weigh it with a scale. Most forklifts have a scale built into them so you can quickly detect if a load is too heavy.

Whatever you do, don’t make guesses about the weight. It’s always better to double check to ensure you don’t overburden the forklift.

Why? Forklifts operate under a counterbalance system. The weight of the truck on the rear axle typically offsets whatever the weight of the carried load is. If the forklift is off balance because the carried load is too heavy, there’s a risk it will tip over and injure the driver or other workers and cause damage to the forklift and load.

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Here’s how your stock or forklift could get damaged through overloading:

If the load is fragile and hits the ground hard enough under all its own weight, it could get ruined. The same goes for the forklift. It could tip over and land on its side or back, which could cause serious damage to the machine.

Both scenarios could lead to expensive losses and repairs, which would ultimately hurt your bottom line.

Worse than damaged goods or machines are forklift injuries and fatalities. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), forklifts were the source of 7,290 nonfatal injuries in 2020. Here are the main ways that people end up hurt by overloaded forklifts:

1. Being inside a forklift that tips over: If an overloaded forklift flips over while you’re in it, you could end up seriously hurt by the fall, stuck inside the machine, or worst of all, crushed between the forklift and the ground.

To prevent this from happening, always wear a seatbelt, avoid tilting the forklift too far forward or backward, use extreme caution on inclines and ramps, avoid sharp turns, and drive slowly.

2. Getting hit by a forklift: Another way an overloaded forklift could hurt or kill someone is by hitting them. That is, the impact of the heavy forklift running into another worker could lead to injury.

To prevent hitting anyone with the forklift, try not to drive near other workers, follow designated driving routes, obey all safety rules such as speed limits and traffic signs, sound your horn to alert others where you are, and look both ways at intersections.

3. Getting crushed or run over by a forklift: Most forklifts weigh several thousand pounds. As a result, one of the most common causes of forklift deaths is getting crushed by one.

To help prevent this from happening, always wear a seatbelt, never allow workers to ride on the forks or on top of the forklift, stay inside of the operator’s compartment at all times while driving, and always check the route for hazards.

At the end of the day, overloaded forklifts are an unnecessary cause of injury and death. What makes forklift accidents especially tragic is that they are avoidable.

So, don’t let your forklift drivers make reckless mistakes. Train them well and make forklift safety a top priority for your business.

Did the delicate balancing act between your forklift’s weight capacity and your ambition fall through? Don’t panic. While you may be tempted to jump out of the vehicle, this may not be the best response since you don’t know how the forklift will land. Instead, remain calm and keep your hands firmly on the wheel. Try to position yourself in the opposite direction of the fall and brace yourself for impact. As soon as the forklift has completely fallen over, call for help.

Hopefully, you’re able to exit the vehicle safely and you can report the accident to your supervisors. Otherwise, get emergency responders on the scene as soon as possible and first aid if needed.