Taking Advantage Of Your Forklift Equipment Delivery

As your forklift is unloaded from the delivery truck, the dealer’s sales consultant is on-site to ensure a smooth arrival and address any questions you may have. While it may be tempting to quickly sign the delivery paperwork and return to your tasks, this moment also provides a valuable opportunity to gain additional insights about your forklift.

Forklift Delivery Walk-Around

Ask your sales consultant to perform a walk-around with your operators. This quick demo addresses every angle of the forklift, such as levers, safety features and the operator manual. A walk-around also provides an opportunity to remind operators about safe operation to reduce product damage and personnel injury.

• Review the warranty for your forklift to understand coverage and time frames. Asking questions about specific concerns and sharing past service issues will help you learn which situations qualify.
• If you have a maintenance manager or team of operators that oversee service needs, gather them to meet with the sales consultant to discuss pre-shift inspections and common safety hazards. Open the hood of the engine compartment to review the main drive components, oil level, air filter, fans and belts. With electric forklifts, discuss proper watering and charging of batteries. This review can also stretch to other forklifts in your fleet, helping your team to spot practices causing premature damage to the forklifts.

Forklift Operator Training

Regulation requires each forklift operator to receive initial training as well as refreshers every 3 years. For operators out of compliance, make a note to enroll them in a safety training class. 

If your company does not handle training internally, work with your equipment specialist to schedule training with the dealership or ask for vendor referrals. 

Operators must also receive refresher training if the forklift is a different model or manufacturer from your past or current fleet. Highlight unique features and how they affect operation. Lastly, perform a hands-on exercise on the new forklift with each operator.

Know Your Team

Dealer support shouldn’t conclude with the delivery of your forklift. Take time to review the dealership’s resources for future needs, such as service, parts, rentals, and racking, and make sure to record the 24-hour emergency line to post in your facility. A quick introduction of your team to the sales consultant helps establish connections for ongoing support.

Just as with the ordering process, the equipment delivery is an ideal moment to gain insights about your forklift and the dealer’s capabilities. Make the most of this opportunity by sharing the expertise of the equipment specialist with your team.

Check out ProLift's equipment options, including new, used, and rental inventory. In addition to the Toyota product line we offer specialty forklifts, aerial lifts, and industrial floor cleaning equipment.