Hi Dan

I understand where you're coming from though you do contradict yourself - you state "They will pick up any load and determine whether the back end starts to lift" inferring they have no idea of the weight of the load.

You go on to say "I am sure that many other safety instructors on this board will agree that many of their students are not even aware of the lifting capacities of the trucks they are operating" and then you promote the 1" = 100 lb rule. In the scenario above any rule is irrelevant.

In respect of charts I'm referring to charts prepared by management relating to the actual work forklifts do. If they load items to the centre of trucks the chart would say the maximum load for that movement was X lbs. If because of site layout and product type they have to place goods on the far side of a truck it would give a maximum of Y lbs and so on.

And management is obliged to put systems in place to ensure operators know the weight of loads they lift - otherwise in any fatality or serious injury situation they are wide open to being found negligent.