It can be simple to neglect the important tire, when it comes to the maintenance of the lift truck. When you pick the wrong tire for your forklift, you could put large increases on your operating expenses, and more importantly increase your safety risks. If on the other hand, you pick correct tire you can enjoy improved safety, substantial cost-savings and an overall more efficient operation. A correctly selected tire could really decrease the downtime for replacement and probably last 40% longer.
The lift truck tire is a somewhat complex part of the equipment. It is therefore, easy to choose the wrong kind accidentally. There are so many different types of tires and brands, with a huge array of treads and compounds. This means you should be completely prepared with the right information when you are buying tires so that you can decide on some durable and safe alternatives to help extend the life of your forklift.
Your business must select the specific tire for their machinery based on the type of surface the machine would be operated on. Indoor applications and smoother surfaces for instance, will normally use tires that are smaller in size and made from rubber. On the contrary, outdoor operations require pneumatic tires. Pneumatic tires have a rubber tread and are filled with compressed air. These characteristics give them a good grip on surfaces that are rough and uneven.
Lift Truck Tire Safety
Each year, 200 individuals are killed in forklift or lift truck related accidents each year. Ensuring lift truck safety, such as proper inspection practices, can all contribute in to avoiding these horrible and dangerous accidents from occurring.
Pre-Work Inspection
Prior to each shift, the forklift's tires have to be checked. Ideally, they should have the proper air pressure, as set forth by the maker. This is really important because if the tire pressure is very low, the machine 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 best choice.
Other Considerations
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration or OSHA require that forklifts used on a continual basis have to be checked at the completion of each and every shift. The operator must check the machinery for any type of mechanical issues and the tires must be inspected for cuts, excessive wear or apparent tire damage. Any issues which are detected should be dealt with as soon as possible to maintain safety.