BHG Forklift Training

Forklift Training & Certification in Des Moines, Iowa

Forklift operator training and evaluations for Greater Des Moines distribution centers, grocery and foodservice warehouses, tire plants and food processors, held at your facility on the trucks your operators drive.

  • OSHA Classes 1–7
  • Training at Your Facility
  • Hands-On Evaluations
  • Certification Records
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Forklift Operator Training in Des Moines

Des Moines is better known for insurance than for freight. The Greater Des Moines Partnership says the metro has the highest concentration of insurance employment of any U.S. metro, with more than 80 of Iowa's insurance companies headquartered here. But the same region sits where Interstates 80 and 35 cross, with three Class I railroads and one Class II, and its warehouses keep a lot of forklifts moving.

The Partnership's 2026 employer list shows Amazon fulfillment and distribution centers in Bondurant, Ankeny and Grimes, Hy-Vee's headquarters in West Des Moines and Casey's in Ankeny, plus Bridgestone and Titan building agricultural and off-road tires in Des Moines. Sysco Iowa, Loffredo Fresh Produce, Capital City Fruit and Perishable Distributors of Iowa are on its list of logistics and distribution companies, so refrigerated docks and cooler aisles are part of the local picture alongside dry warehouses.

BHG Forklift Training, a Disabled Veteran-Owned company, travels from Hannibal, Missouri to your Des Moines-area facility. Operators receive classroom instruction, hands-on practice on your own trucks and an evaluation in your workplace, and your company certifies them. BHG covers all seven OSHA truck classes and offers training in English or Spanish. Because Iowa runs its own OSHA program, the training is built around the standards Iowa OSHA enforces.

Where Forklifts Work in Des Moines

  • Fulfillment and distribution centers

    Amazon runs fulfillment and distribution centers in Bondurant, Ankeny and Grimes, and the Partnership's logistics list includes Hy-Vee, Casey's, NAPA and Interstate Batteries. High-volume buildings like these rely on reach trucks, order pickers and pallet jacks, where training focuses on work at height, rack clearance, trailer creep and pedestrian traffic.

  • Grocery, produce and foodservice cold chain

    Foodservice and produce distributors such as Sysco Iowa, Loffredo Fresh Produce, Capital City Fruit and Perishable Distributors of Iowa are on the Partnership's logistics list, and Anderson-Erickson Dairy and meat packer Pine Ridge Farms are Des Moines employers. Where product is chilled or frozen, operators crossing between coolers, freezers and docks deal with condensation, slick floors, fogged glass and cold-stiffened hands and controls.

  • Tire and equipment manufacturing

    Bridgestone Americas makes agricultural tires in Des Moines, Titan International makes agricultural and off-road tires, and John Deere's Des Moines Works builds agricultural machinery, with Deere operations listed in Ankeny, Johnston and Urbandale. Large tires and machine components are bulky and hard to see around, so load stability, clamp or special attachments and travel with an obstructed view all come up in training.

  • Beverage and food production

    Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling in Des Moines, Pepsi Beverages in Urbandale and B&G Foods' Tone's Spices plant in Ankeny all appear on the Partnership's 2026 employer list. Stacked beverage loads shift under hard braking, and mixed production and warehouse floors need clear routes that separate forklifts from line workers.

What Shapes Forklift Safety in Des Moines

  • Iowa's State Plan covers private sector workplaces across the state, and OSHA notes that Iowa OSHA has adopted OSHA's standards. That means the operator training requirements in 29 CFR 1910.178(l) apply in Des Moines as they do elsewhere, but inspections, citations and complaints go through Iowa OSHA at 6200 Park Avenue.

  • Under Iowa OSHA's reporting rules, a work-related death has to be reported within eight hours, and an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or eye loss within 24 hours, by the state's 24-hour fatality line or its incident form. A serious forklift incident in Des Moines is reported to the state program, not to a federal area office.

  • Central Iowa winters are long for dock and yard crews. NOAA's 1991-2020 normals for Des Moines International Airport show 36.5 inches of snow a year, 127.9 days with a low at or below freezing, 45.5 days when the high stays at or below freezing and 10.4 nights at or below zero. Ice on dock plates and ramps, snow tracked into trailers, and cold-weather battery and propane performance belong in training.

  • Summer adds heat: the same normals show 22 days a year reaching 90 degrees or more. Operators working in trailers or on outdoor yards need water and breaks, and propane cylinders should be stored out of direct sun.

Forklift Classes Des Moines Employers Need Most

All forklift classes
Client Questions

Des Moines Forklift Training Questions

We get a lot of the same great questions from new clients. Here are the answers to the ones we hear most often — if yours isn't listed, don't hesitate to reach out directly.

BHG Forklift Training instructor leading an onsite training session

Onsite Forklift Training Session

For most private employers it is Iowa OSHA, which operates Iowa's OSHA-approved State Plan from 6200 Park Avenue, Suite 100, in Des Moines. Iowa OSHA has adopted OSHA's standards, so the forklift operator training rules in 29 CFR 1910.178(l) apply. Federal OSHA keeps a few areas, such as federal agencies and contractor-run Postal Service mail operations, and lists its Omaha Area Office for those.
Each operator needs formal instruction, hands-on training and an evaluation on each type of truck they drive. Order pickers and reach trucks are Class 2 narrow-aisle trucks, so training covers load handling at height, rack clearance, travel with the mast raised or lowered, and fall protection on order pickers. We train on your trucks and racking, then your company certifies each operator.
Training and evaluation should take place in your actual coolers, freezers and docks. That means stopping distances on wet or frosted floors, condensation and fogged glass when trucks move from cold rooms to warm docks, pallet jack handling in tight cooler aisles, and the effect of cold on batteries. Each operator is evaluated on every truck type they use.
Yes. BHG comes to your facility anywhere in the Des Moines area, including Grimes, Bondurant, Altoona, Ankeny and West Des Moines. All training happens at your site on your own trucks, because the hands-on training and the evaluation have to reflect your equipment and your building. BHG is based in Hannibal, Missouri, and schedules each visit with you.
About BHG

Your Safety. Our Mission.

BHG Forklift Training trains and evaluates forklift operators at your facility, on your own trucks. Our instructors bring decades of hands-on experience in warehouses, distribution centers, manufacturing plants and construction sites.

Our approach is simple: we listen first. Every facility has its own trucks, layout and traffic patterns. We build each session around your equipment, your aisles and docks, and your shifts — so your operators train for the work they actually do.

From Class 1 electric riders in the warehouse to Class 7 rough terrain forklifts on the job site, we cover every OSHA truck class, from our base in Hannibal, Missouri to employers across 17 states in the Midwest and South, in English or Spanish.

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