Forklifts are known as the workhorses of industrial world. Forklifts help in making the process of handling, lifting, transporting and storing heavy materials a lot easier. Forklifts can easily lift quintals of weight quire easily. This is the reason that forklifts have been widely accepted and their use is exponentially growing.
Forklifts help in enhancing the work efficiency and effectiveness because of their heavy lifting capacities. This is the reason that these lifting trucks need to be properly maintained. Here you need to understand the accurate after for which the maintenance & service needs to be done and the minimum and maximum time between these intervals.
With regular maintenance services being done, you lift truck stays in proper shape and condition to safely operate and fulfill the lifting tasks. According to the guidelines set by OSHA, any forklift truck which is listed as ‘unsafe’ for operation, need to be removed from service. The required repairs need to be performed by properly trained professionals only. The instructions written on truck by the manufacturer need to be cross checked before performing service & maintenance on it.
There are many instances when a forklift can be considered unsafe for usage like if the machine has missing some missing bolts, the welds on the machine are broken, its tires are missing pieces of rubber, its overhead guard has damage or a gauge is not functioning correctly etc.
These are the tips that can help you in perfect maintenance.
1) Checking Tires On A Regular Basis
This is one of the most essential aspects that should be kept in mind when it comes to maintenance of a forklift. Checking the pressure in the tires helps in ensuring that the forklift is operating on the most efficient gas economy and thus safer operation. If the tires are not properly inflated then accidents occur as traction is not good. On the other hand, if the tires are inflated more, then they can even blow out causing a lot of downtime.
tire check
2) Changing Oil Every 3 Months
As the oil change on a regular basis is required in a car, in the same way forklifts even demand regular oil change. It is told by experts that regular oil change optimizes the performance of forklift. If the performance is optimal then the efficiency and effectiveness in the operation of forklift is also great. Oil change in every 3 months helps in increasing fuel economy, improving overall performance and prevention of combustion problems.
3) Take Extra Care Of Brakes
Brake fails can prove to be a disaster at your workplace as forklifts weigh around a ton and can be destructive if out of control. So make sure to solve all kinds of issues related to brakes beforehand. Changing the brake pads and calipers only take few minutes but doing so can help you prevent serious accidents and harm to the materials.
4) Recycle Parts
This is one of the most economic and environment friendly ways of handling the parts. Recycling the old parts can help your business save a lot of money and also help in avoiding the construction of new parts, avoiding harm to the nature. Recycled parts are not of low quality instead these are just refurbished old parts that worked great. Recycling can be really beneficial for business and thus it is being accepted widely.
5) Get Warranty Maximized
You can easily enjoy extra benefits if you get the warranty of the parts possible. Warranties provide you with extra security in case you suffer a forklift breakdown suddenly. With warranty you can easily get the forklift fixed if the forklift comes under the coverage criteria. Some warranties even help you for a lifetime and ensure a replacement of any malfunctioned parts for the duration of its use. While warranties may cost more in the short-term, in the long term they can save owners thousands of dollars.
These were the top aspects that can help in proper maintenance and repair of your forklift.
Source of information: Forklift for Sale