Order Pickers & Reach Trucks

Narrow-aisle warehouses rely on order pickers, which lift the operator up to pick items by hand, and stand-up reach trucks, which reach deep into tall racks. Both raise the operator or load high in tight spaces, where falls, tip-overs and crushed legs happen.

• Warehouses
• Distribution centers

Order pickers

• Wear fall protection whenever the platform is raised: a harness and lanyard or restraint attached to the anchor point the maker designates, usually on the overhead guard.
• Keep the gates or chains closed.
• Never step off the platform onto racks or pallets.
• Don’t travel fast with the platform raised; follow the maker’s speed limits at height.
• Know the rescue plan for lowering an operator if the truck fails at height.

Stand-up reach trucks

• Keep your whole body inside the compartment. Feet and legs sticking out get crushed against racks.
• Travel with forks lowered and the reach retracted.
• Raise and lower only when stopped, square to the rack.
• Watch rear swing in tight aisles.
• In a tip-over, step off backward out of the compartment if the maker instructs that for stand-up trucks (opposite of sit-down forklifts). Follow your training for your truck.

Both

• Trained and evaluated on the specific truck type
• Daily pre-shift inspection done. See Forklift Inspection
• Loads within capacity at the lift height (capacity drops as height increases)
• Horn at aisle ends and blind corners; watch for pedestrians
• Overhead clearance checked for lights, sprinklers and pipes
• Rack damage reported. See Racking Inspection

Last updated: October 2, 2026