In order to avoid lift truck abuse wherever possible, counterbalance forklift drivers are encouraged to take the following measures to keep the equipment running in a safely manner and to ensure that the driver remains safe.
Tires: Tires must be replaced when they are missing chunks or are worn badly. If the tire is in bad shape, they can cause sharp jarring impacts to the driver, the axle components, to the wheel components, and to the load itself. Demanding applications require utilizing proper tires for maximum performance of the forklift truck. In order to be certain that your equipment has the correct tires, ask your local dealer for an application survey.
Forks: Furthermore, driving a forklift with poorly worn tires could also generate premature wear on the bottom of the forks. This can really jeopardize the ability of the forklift's truck to lift, which can lead to a potentially dangerous work environment. Being sure to complete frequent fork checks by operators and by in-house maintenance technicians has to occur regularly in order to make sure that your machinery is functioning at maximum capacity.
Transmission: Drivers who ride on the inching pedal could cause damage to the transmission. In order to avoid major part failure and breakdown, the inching pedal should ideally only be engaged when you want to apply the brakes while revving the engine and when you are approaching a rack. When the engine is revving, the hydraulics could work at full speed. When the hydraulics are not being utilized, the brake pedal is utilized for regular stopping of the truck.
Impact: Whenever the unfortunate circumstance of a forklift encountering an impact to products and surroundings at high travel speeds happens, forks, wheels, backrests, tires and attachments all suffer. Following which operators drive which units by assigning machines to a driver can help track who is responsible for the abuse to the equipment. By installing an impact monitor, a keyless access system or a vehicle speed limiter as alternatives on your forklift truck can help you to really reduce impact damage.
Training: The key to making certain that your machinery is well maintained is regular and ongoing training. The machines users have to be on board with good maintenance and safety applications. It is required that all new operators are properly trained and know how to carry out the required daily checks so they can correctly operate the machinery before using it.