Load-centre awareness is one of the core capabilities that determine the safety and operation efficiency of electric forklift operators in daily material handling work. Unlike internal combustion forklifts with relatively heavier counterweight structures, electric forklifts feature compact body design, which puts higher requirements on operators’ mastery of load centre rules during routine operations. Systematic, regular awareness exercises can help operators form intuitive operation judgment, avoid unnecessary safety risks in actual work.

Before starting any formal awareness exercise, operators need to first get familiar with the basic marking of load centre on the operating electric forklift, confirm the rated load value corresponding to different fork lifting heights, and clear the flat, barrier-free operation zone in the warehouse to ensure no unrelated personnel stay around. No overloaded test action shall be arranged in the whole exercise process to eliminate hidden dangers in advance.

The first stage of the exercise is static awareness practice. Operators stack standard, uniform specification cargo pallets on the fork arms, adjust the distance between two forks to make the pallet load centre fall in the preset safe range of fork carrying surface, then observe the small changes of body tilting angle from the side view, record the corresponding load centre offset value when the counterweight is about to lose balance. Repeating this practice for 2 to 3 rounds each time can help operators form intuitive memory of correct load centre position without frequent reference to the operation specification sheet.

The second stage is low-speed dynamic scene exercise. After mastering static operation rules, operators can select different sizes, different weights of common warehouse cargos, arrange the load centre at 50mm, 100mm offset positions respectively under the condition of no overloading, drive the electric forklift to move forward and backward at the speed lower than 3km/h, complete low-height stacking actions, feel the subtle changes of vehicle steering feedback and stability, learn to judge potential tipping risks in advance when load centre exceeds the safe range.

Operators are suggested to arrange 15 to 20 minutes of load centre awareness exercise every week, combine with actual work scenarios to adjust exercise contents, effectively reduce the occurrence of cargo falling, vehicle instability problems in daily operation, and create a safer working environment for all warehouse staff.