WHAT DOES A FORKLIFT DRIVER DO?

Published: Apr 03, 2025 - The Forklift Driver emphasizes safety and efficiency, including daily equipment inspections and unloading duties. This position extends to verifying freight against manifests, maintaining equipment cleanliness, and handling materials, including stacking and reloading tire racks. Additionally, this role involves cross-training for departmental versatility and adherence to all operational procedures.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Forklift Driver

1. Forklift Driver Responsibilities

  • Communication: Communicate with receiving (daily or hourly) to retrieve incoming product to fill the bins for orders and put away overflow.
  • Replenishment: Replenish titles from overflow locations.
  • Training and Supervision: Properly train and oversee anyone assisting with restock/replenishment.
  • Housekeeping: Assist with housekeeping daily (e.g. trash removal, organizing work areas, end of day tasks, etc.).
  • Forklift Operation: Operate forklift and forklift certification without interruption.
  • Safety Compliance: Enforce and follow all company rules and safety rules.
  • Inventory Management: Verify that all products are in the proper location.
  • Stock Locator: Use the Stock Locator application and mark the boxes clearly.
  • Product Organization: Address any titles that have more boxes than can fit in a bin.
  • Product Reallocation: Re-assign to a larger bin or put into an overflow location.
  • Efficiency Tracking: Maintain an average of boxes restocked per day to fill pick bins.
  • Box Management: Cut open boxes and correctly place in bin.
  • Order Fulfillment: Pull, restock product as called by pickers during the day.

2. Forklift Driver Job Summary

  • Forklift Operation: Operate the forklift in a safe and efficient manner.
  • Equipment Inspection: Conduct daily inspections of equipment.
  • Truck Unloading: Unload trucks with a forklift and perform receiving duties.
  • Freight Verification: Count and verify freight to manifest.
  • Equipment Maintenance: Maintain the cleanliness of the equipment and the area.
  • Material Handling: General material handling duties for a wide variety of materials.
  • Tire Handling: Transfer loose tires onto racks and stack racks.
  • Tire Reloading: Reload racks of tires for outbound.
  • Policy Adherence: Adhere to established policies and procedures.
  • Restocking Assistance: Assist with bin restock.
  • Cross-Training: Cross-train to assist in other areas of the department.

3. Forklift Driver Accountabilities

  • Production Support: Work with production lines in offloading finished product and staging glass.
  • Forklift Safety: Follow all safety procedures when operating the forklift.
  • Forklift Maintenance: Maintain a clean and orderly forklift at all times, completing forklift inspections.
  • Truck Operation: Drive a flat-bed truck at times in and out of the building.
  • Product Loading: Load finished product into racks.
  • Trailer Offloading: Offload trailers with materials and handle the packing slip appropriately.
  • Trailer Loading: Load finished product onto trailers.
  • Invoice Verification: Physically check incoming items and the invoice.
  • Stock Management: Load and unload, receive, count, and store stock, along with dispatching and picking according to advised time frames.
  • Inventory Control: Account for all stock under control, maintain and report accurate stock levels, verify inventory by comparing to physical counts of stock, investigate discrepancies or adjust errors.
  • Mechanical Equipment Operation: Operate mechanical equipment including forklifts.

4. Forklift Driver Functions

  • Goods Handling: Unload and load goods from/to containers, lorries, etc.
  • Coordination: Liaise with all parties concerned on the smooth operations of the day-to-day job.
  • Goods Tallying: Assist in tallying the goods while loading and unloading that are being carried out in the warehouse.
  • Warehouse Movement: Collect/send goods from/to warehouses within the company's operating premises.
  • Task Flexibility: Perform any other related duties that the management may require from time to time.
  • Teamwork: Operate effectively in a team, contributing positively to team operations.
  • Workplace Safety: Foster and promote a safe and healthy work environment maintaining safe working practices at all times and work within and comply with company safety policies and procedures.
  • Forklift Operation: Operate forklift trucks to tranship finished products and packaging, ensuring there is no damage to the materials.
  • Quality Inspection: Provide a quality inspection of all pallets to be transhipped, either finished goods or packaging, and reject and report all substandard products.
  • Production Support: Supply the production department with the packaging requirements and pallets, return any foreign pallets and excessive packaging materials to stock.

5. Forklift Driver Job Description

  • Work Assignment Interpretation: Read work orders or receive oral instructions to determine work assignments or material or equipment needs.
  • Product Sorting: Sort products before loading and unloading.
  • Forklift Operation (Shipping): Operate forklift to move palleted product to the shipping area.
  • Forklift Operation (Loading): Operate forklift to load semi-trucks with product.
  • Unit Lifting: Safely lift and move units using a forklift to place onto pallets.
  • Product Movement: Ensure safe movement of palleted product from work stations to warehouse/shipping area.
  • Heavy Object Assistance: Assist with moving heavy objects for other departments.
  • Workplace Cleanliness: Maintain work area in a clean, safe, and orderly manner.
  • Safety Equipment Use: Use proper safety equipment and apparel required for each operation on individual’s product line or work cell.