When it comes to maintaining the forklift, it could be easy to overlook the simple yet important tire. If you pick the wrong tire, you could end up accidentally with a huge increase in fleet operating costs, or increased safety risks, which is worse yet. If however, you pick right tire you could enjoy significant cost-savings, improved safety and an overall more efficient operation. A correctly selected tire can actually lessen the downtime for replacement and probably last 40% longer.
The lift truck tire is a somewhat complex component of the machine. It is therefore, easy to pick the wrong kind accidentally. There are so many different brands of tires and kinds, with a huge range of treads and compounds. This means you must be fully prepared with the right data when you are buying tires so that you could select some tough and safe alternatives to help prolong the life of your forklift.
Your business should choose the specific tire for their machinery based on the kind of surface the machine will be operated on. Smoother surfaces and indoor applications for instance, would normally utilize tires of a smaller size and made from rubber. On the other hand, outdoor applications need pneumatic tires. Pneumatic tires have a rubber tread and are filled with compressed air. These characteristics give them a great grip on surfaces which are uneven and rough.
Lift Truck Tire Safety
Each and every year, 200 individuals are killed in forklift or lift truck related accidents each year. Ensuring forklift safety, like for example correct inspection practices, can all contribute in to preventing these horrible and dangerous accidents from occurring.
Pre-Work Check
The tires of the forklift have to be inspected before each and every shift. Tires should ideally have the right air pressure, which is set by the manufacturer of the tire. This is very essential because if the tire pressure is very low, the machinery could accidentally tip over when a load is being raised.
Kinds
For indoor work, forklifts that have solid tires made out of rubber are the most suitable choice.
Other factors
The OHSA or Occupational Health and Safety Administration require that lift trucks utilized on a continual basis have to be checked at the completion of each and every shift. The operator should check the machine for any kind of mechanical problems and the tires must be inspected for cuts, excessive wear or apparent damage to the tires. Any issues which are detected should be addressed as soon as possible to maintain safety.