Counterbalance lift truck Training
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA require that anybody operating a counterbalanced forklift receive classroom or lecture style training. They also require that a periodic refresher training in addition to a supervised driving course is finished. There is no required minimum time for the classroom training or supervised driving. Additionally, there is no frequency mandated for the refresher training either.

Counterbalanced Forklifts
A counterbalanced lift truck balances its cargo utilizing the weight of the truck. The forks on a lift truck are in a fixed position; they go up and down and do not turn. The forks run parallel to the body of the forklift. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration require that people who will be utilizing counterbalanced forklifts on the job be trained on the trucks while being in the environment that they would be using them.

Classroom Training
Lecture style training or classroom training offers information about the truck that the driver would be using. This training covers aspects like weight and load capacity, height, how to fuel or charge the lift truck. It includes how to gauge the time on the engine along with any forklift specific safety information like where to stand when walking around the truck. Either written and/or oral testing is part of the classroom training. There is no required minimum time for the training.

Supervised Driving
The driver of a lift truck will need to learn to drive the equipment while being supervised. The supervised driving has to take place in an environment that resembles the present environment which the operator works in. This atmosphere must include the kind of terrain she will be traveling on, have similar vehicle and pedestrian traffic nearby, and the same surrounding structures close by also. There is no required minimum number of hours the operator needs to drive while being supervised.