What a Telehandler Is and What It Is For

A telehandler (short for telescopic handler) is a lifting machine on four large wheels with a boom that rises and slides out. At the end of the boom is a carriage that holds an attachment: most often a pair of pallet forks, but also a bucket, a lifting hook or a jib. The standards call it a rough-terrain variable-reach truck. "Rough-terrain" means it is built for unpaved ground such as a building site or a farm yard. "Variable-reach" means the boom can place a load at many different heights and distances in front of the machine.

On a construction site a telehandler unloads trucks, lifts pallets of blocks to a scaffold, places bundles of steel on an upper floor, and carries materials across rough ground. On farms it stacks bales and moves feed. In industry it supports maintenance work and moves heavy items where a warehouse forklift cannot go.

Who this course is for

The course is for people who will work with or around telehandlers: new operators before their practical training, site supervisors, slingers and signallers, storekeepers, and anyone who plans work that uses one. Understanding the machine helps everyone on site. A supervisor who knows why the load chart changes with reach will not ask the operator to "just push it out a bit further". A worker who knows where the machine can tip will stay out of the danger zone.

The course follows the life of a working day: knowing the machine, reading its limits, setting it up on the ground, checking it before use, driving and lifting, using attachments, and finally parking and dealing with emergencies.