Workplace safety and OSHA
Forklift Trainer and Evaluator Essentials
For supervisors who deliver practical forklift training and evaluate operators in the workplace
Awareness · 1.5 hours · Certificate does not expire
Under 29 CFR 1910.178(l), an online course can deliver only the first of three parts of forklift operator training. The other two, practical training and an evaluation of the operator's performance in the workplace, are delivered by people at the site: usually a supervisor, lead or safety specialist. This course is for those people.
You will learn what the standard asks of trainers and evaluators: the knowledge, training and experience test in (l)(2)(iii) and how OSHA has interpreted it, what direct supervision means (OSHA explained in April 2025 that the evaluator must be physically present, so live video does not count), and how to keep trainees and bystanders safe. You will learn to design practical exercises for the truck classes, attachments and site conditions your operators actually face, to run an evaluation that is fair and consistent, to stop unsafe operation, and to record a result of competent or not yet competent. The final module covers the employer's certification under (l)(6), the five refresher triggers, the 3-year re-evaluation, operators with prior training, staffing agency workers and record keeping. Downloadable employer forms are linked in the slides: a practical training checklist, an operator performance evaluation and a training certification record.
This course is not a train-the-trainer certification. OSHA does not certify or approve forklift trainers or training providers, and completing this course does not make you a qualified trainer or evaluator. Your employer decides whether you have the knowledge, training and experience to train and evaluate on each truck type and attachment, mainly from your hands-on skill in that workplace.
The course follows federal OSHA general industry requirements. Construction employers follow 29 CFR 1926.602(d), which applies the same training requirements. State-plan states may have additional or stricter requirements, and employers outside the US follow their own regulations.
The course closes with a 10-question examination drawn from a bank of 20. On passing you receive a PlanetISO Certificate of Completion for the instruction delivered online, with lifetime access to the course. The certificate does not expire.
What people learn
- Explain the three parts of forklift operator training and which parts must be delivered in the workplace.
- Describe what knowledge, training and experience mean for a trainer or evaluator, and why OSHA does not certify trainers.
- Apply the direct supervision requirement to trainees, including OSHA's 2025 interpretation on live video.
- Design practical exercises for the truck classes, attachments and site hazards operators will meet.
- Run a fair, consistent workplace evaluation with observable criteria, and stop unsafe operation.
- List the contents of the employer's certification and the five refresher training triggers.
- Handle operators with prior training and staffing agency workers, and keep training records.