Your first-day checklist

Your manufacturer's manual prevails. This sheet gives the order of the steps; every figure must be read in your own manual, as it changes from one model to the next.

1. 1

   On delivery

   • Walk around it BEFORE you sign
   • LIFT-ARM BRACE present and undamaged
   • Restraint bar, 3-point belt, ROPS/FOPS cab
   • Quick coupler and attachments counted
2. 2

   Unloading

   • Firm level ground, well clear of edges
   • Never correct your steering on the ramp
   • Bucket low, arms down
   • Once loaded: chock and lash to the fitted tie-downs
3. 3

   Before the first start

   • All fluid levels, machine on level ground
   • Track tension and condition
   • Quick coupler locked: pins fully OUT
   • Find the emergency exit
4. 4

   First start

   • Seated, belt on, restraint bar down
   • Nothing must work with the bar up: check it
   • ≈ 5 min at idle before loading
   • Dry run: do the movements match the control pattern?
5. 5

   What injures

   • Going under raised arms WITHOUT the brace
   • Climbing out over the front with the bucket up
   • Exceeding rated capacity: the machine tips
   • Pushing the attachment down lifts the front of the frame
6. 6

   Worth knowing

   • Never a passenger — one seat, one place
   • Never used as a work platform
   • Counterweights change the rated capacity
   • Operator training required for professional use