It can be simple to neglect the essential tire, when it comes to the maintenance of the forklift. When you choose the wrong tire for your lift truck, you could put large increases on your operating costs, and more significantly increase your safety risks. If on the other hand, you pick correct tire you could enjoy significant cost-savings, improved safety and an overall more effective operation. A correctly selected tire can really lessen the downtime for replacement and potentially last 40 percent longer.
The forklift tire is a quite complex part of the machine. It is therefore, easy to pick the wrong kind accidentally. There are numerous different brands of tires and kinds, with different treads and compounds. This means you need to be fully prepared with the correct data when you are going shopping for tires so that you can select some durable and safe options to help prolong the life of your forklift.
Your company must select the specific tire for their equipment according to the type of surface the machinery will be operated on. Smoother surfaces and indoor applications for example, would generally utilize tires that are smaller in size and made from rubber. On the other hand, outdoor operations need pneumatic tires. Pneumatic tires are filled with compressed air and have a rubber tread. These characteristics give them a good grip on surfaces which are uneven and rough.
Forklift Tire Safety
Each and every year, 200 individuals are killed in lift truck or forklift related accidents each year. Ensuring forklift safety, like for instance correct inspection practices, can all contribute in to preventing these horrible and dangerous mishaps from happening.
Pre-Work Check
Before each and every shift, the forklift's tires have to be checked. Ideally, they should have the right air pressure, as set forth by the manufacturer. This is very essential because if the tire pressure is very low, the machine could inadvertently tip over when a load is being lifted.
Types
The tires used on indoor forklifts would be made out of solid rubber.
Other factors
The OHSA or Occupational Health and Safety Administration require that lift trucks utilized on a continual basis have to be inspected at the completion of each shift. The driver must check the equipment for any mechanical problems and the tires must be looked over for cuts, excessive wear or obvious tire damage. Any problems which are detected must be addressed as soon as possible to maintain safety.