Industrial Forklift Operator

Key Responsibilities

• Safely and independently operate sit-down forklifts, stand-up forklifts, Combi lift multidirectional forklifts, and other authorized Forklift in accordance with training, site traffic rules, and equipment operating procedures.
• Load, unload, transport, stage, and store units of lumber, work-in-process material, finished products, non-hazardous adhesive materials, machinery parts, pallets, crates, and production supplies.
• Handle long, heavy, oversized, and irregular loads using the appropriate equipment, forks, attachments, load-centering practices, travel direction, and spotter support when required.
• Supply production work centers with raw materials and remove completed products, scrap, dunnage, and work-in-process inventory to maintain safe and efficient material flow.
• Use handheld scanners, barcode or label-printing technology, and company inventory systems to identify, label, receive, transfer, store, issue, and ship raw materials and finished products.
• Verify material identification, bundle or unit tags, lot information, quantities, inventory status, and storage locations before completing physical moves and system transactions.
• Create, apply, replace, and verify material labels and location identifiers in accordance with company traceability and inventory control requirements.
• Support the Lumber Inventory Manager by maintaining storage discipline, verifying location accuracy, assisting with cycle counts and physical inventories, and reporting inventory discrepancies or transaction errors.
• Receive incoming shipments and compare materials with bills of lading, packing slips, purchase orders, and receiving documentation; report visible damage, shortages, overages, or incorrect materials.
• Prepare and load outbound products and materials while protecting product quality and following established loading, blocking, spacing, and load-securement requirements.
• Inspect lumber packages, finished products, pallets, crates, and other loads for stability, damage, proper banding, and safe handling conditions before movement.
• Conduct and document pre-use inspections of assigned equipment, including forks, tires, wheels, mast, hydraulics, brakes, steering, warning devices, restraints, batteries, fuel systems, and safety equipment as applicable.
• Perform authorized operator-care activities such as equipment cleaning, battery charging or change-out, fueling, fluid checks, and reporting maintenance needs.
• Immediately remove unsafe equipment from service in accordance with site procedures and report equipment damage, mechanical concerns, near misses, product damage, and unsafe conditions to supervision.
• Maintain clear aisles, designated storage locations, trailer approaches, staging areas, and pedestrian routes; support housekeeping and 5S expectations throughout the plant and yard.
• Coordinate material priorities and movements with the Lumber Inventory Manager, Production, Quality, Maintenance, Shipping, Receiving, and supervision.
• Participate in safety training, equipment qualification, incident prevention, continuous improvement, and cross-training on additional material handling equipment or logistics functions.
• Complete required records accurately and complete other responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications

• Suggested 2+ years of forklift, industrial truck, Forklift, or material handling experience in a lumber mill, plywood plant, veneer facility, engineered wood products plant, warehouse, distribution center, manufacturing facility, or similar industrial environment.
• Demonstrated ability to safely operate industrial lift trucks and handle long, heavy, oversized, or irregular loads in areas shared with pedestrians, production equipment, trailers, and stored materials.
• Ability to obtain and maintain company qualification or certification for each assigned class and type of powered industrial truck.
• Experience or demonstrated ability to use handheld scanners, barcode labels, label printers, inventory tracking systems, warehouse management systems, ERP systems, tablets, or similar digital material-control technology.
• Ability to accurately complete physical material moves and corresponding inventory transactions while maintaining material identity, traceability, and storage-location accuracy.
• Ability to read and understand work instructions, equipment inspection forms, product labels, inventory records, bills of lading, packing slips, purchase orders, and shipping or receiving documents.
• Strong situational awareness, attention to detail, and commitment to safety, product protection, inventory accuracy, and housekeeping.
• Ability to communicate effectively by radio and in person and to work collaboratively with inventory, production, quality, maintenance, shipping, receiving, and supervision.
• Ability to work flexible schedules, overtime, weekends, and assigned shifts as required.

Preferred

• Experience operating Combilift or other multidirectional or side-loading forklifts used for long lumber packages, panels, or engineered wood products.
• Experience operating both sit-down counterbalance and stand-up forklifts in industrial manufacturing or warehouse environments.
• Experience in lumber mills, plywood plants, veneer facilities, OSB plants, sawmills, mass timber, CLT, glulam, LVL, engineered wood products, or related wood-products manufacturing.
• Experience with barcode-driven inventory processes, manufacturing execution systems, warehouse management systems, or ERP-based receiving, transfer, storage, and shipping transactions.
• Experience loading and unloading flatbeds, vans, curtain-side trailers, containers, or machinery and maintenance shipments.
• Experience with load securement, rigging, overhead cranes, or other heavy-material-handling practices.
• Knowledge of Lean manufacturing, 5S, TPM, root cause analysis, or continuous improvement principles.