It can be simple to overlook the important tire, when it comes to the maintenance of the lift truck. When you select the wrong tire for your forklift, you can put large increases on your operating expenses, and more importantly increase your safety risks. If on the other hand, you select right tire you can enjoy improved safety, significant cost-savings and an overall more efficient operation. A properly selected tire can really reduce the downtime for replacement and potentially last 40 percent longer.
The lift truck tire is a somewhat complex component of the equipment. It is thus, easy to pick the wrong type accidentally. There are lots of different brands of tires and types, with a wide range of compounds and treads. This means you should be fully prepared with the correct data when you are buying tires so that you could decide on some durable and safe alternatives to help extend the life of your forklift.
The specific kind of tire selected for a lift truck depends on the type of surface you would be utilizing the machine on. Like for instance, indoor applications and smooth surfaces normally use tires which are made from rubber and that are a smaller size. On the contrary, outdoor operations need pneumatic tires. Pneumatic tires are filled with compressed air and have a rubber tread. These characteristics give them a great grip on rough and uneven surfaces.
Forklift Tire Safety
Each year, 200 people 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 occurring.
Pre-Work Inspection
The tires of the forklift have to be inspected before every shift. Tires must ideally have the proper air pressure, which is set by the manufacturer of the tire. This is really important because if the tire pressure is very low, the machine can accidentally tip over when a load is being raised.
Kinds
For indoor work, forklifts which have solid tires made out of rubber are the most suitable option.
Other Considerations
Occupational Health and Safety Administration or OSHA places a requirement on the frequent utilization of lift trucks. These forklifts must be inspected at the end of each shift. The operator must inspect the machinery for any type of mechanical problems and the tires should be looked over for cuts, excessive wear or obvious damage to the tires. Any issues that are detected need to be dealt with as soon as possible to maintain safety.