Attachments

Powered industrial trucks often use various attachments in place of traditional forks.

Many attachments are common, as follow:

• Sideshifters: shift the forks right and left
• Container handlers: designed to lift shipping containers
• Carton clamps: equipped with a pressure valve to squeeze the load
• Cotton or pulp bale clamps: grabs and holds bales
• Paper roll handlers: commonly used in the paper industry to lift and transport paper rolls to printing machines
• Rotators: grabs and rotates the load
• Extending or telescoping forks: for use with reach and turret trucks
• Personnel platforms: specially designed for lifting personnel

These attachments increase the versatility of the truck but can present important safety considerations. Operators must be trained in the proper use of attachments because they alter the performance of the forklift. Attachments affect the truck's performance by changing elements, such as:

• Center of gravity
• Visibility
• Capacity

To learn more about Industrial Equipment visit our Cal/OSHA Industrial Equipment, Lift Trucks and Tractors Online Training web page.