Right on Todd & Randal !!
Do not be too quick to criticise this boss because he is like so many of us in relation to offering an opinion from an illformed possition.
There is a lot of ignorance in the workplace which is the result of inaction by the legislators of the past.
The process of introduction of Registered Training Organisations into the Training & Assessment area will go a long way to improve the current situation.
We should all strive to gain knowledge before we speek on any subject. Thanks to "Forklift Action.Com" for providing this forum where we can all improve our knowlege
Mate I have bad news for your boss. The load must be supported by the load backrest or load guard if you like to call it. As the previous reply tends to say, forklifts are rated with a homogenous cube. If the height of the load exceeds 1200mm then you have stabiliy issues. Not to mention that you must travel with the load as low to the ground as possible.
Please tell me you are going to enroll your "bosses " in a forklift training course.
The rated capacity of a forklift is a combination of the maximum load (weight) a lift truck is rated to cary at a designated load center (typicaly 24 inches, meaning the load should be no taller than four feet) to a specified higth (how high the top of the forks will be off the floor). Without getting into mathmatical formulas and engineering approvals from the manufacturer a basic rule of thumb is to deduct 100 pounds from the weight capacity for every 1 inch you exceed the rated load center.
There are many safety concerns with operating a lift truck that has a load protruding above the mast. Is your lift truck going to tip over? Are you going to strike a doorway with the load? Are you going to strike any other object man has placed in your warehouse (lights, fans, sprinklers, furnaces, propane pipes etc.)?
The Australian work cover authority produces a booklet regaurding forklift stability. Follow the links posted in this news letter, they sent one to me in Canada, so I am sure they will send you one. It has many basic facts to assist you and your company in the safe operation of your lift truck.
The maximum safe distance to have the forks is as low as possable but no mre than 6 inches off the floor.