It could really be simple to overlook the essential 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 significantly increase your safety risks. If however, you choose right tire you could enjoy improved safety, substantial cost-savings and an overall more efficient operation. A properly selected tire could actually lessen the downtime for replacement and probably last 40% longer.
Tires are really quite complex parts on the machine; therefore, it is easy to pick the wrong one accidentally. There are lots of different kinds of tires and brands, with different treads and compounds. This means you should be fully prepared with the right data when you are going shopping for tires so that you can decide on some safe and durable options to help prolong the life of your forklift.
Your company must choose the particular tire for their machine based on the kind of surface the machinery will be operated on. Smoother surfaces and indoor applications for example, would usually use tires that are smaller in size and made from rubber. On the other hand, outdoor operations require 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 rough and uneven.
Forklift Tire Safety
Each year, 200 people are killed in lift truck or forklift related accidents each year. Ensuring forklift safety, like proper inspection practices, can all contribute in to preventing these dangerous and terrible accidents from taking place.
Pre-Work Check
The tires of the forklift needs to be checked before every shift. Tires must ideally have the proper air pressure, which is set by the tire manufacturer. This is really essential because if the tire pressure is too low, the equipment could accidentally tip over when a load is being raised.
Types
For indoor work, lift trucks that have solid tires made out of rubber are the most suitable choice.
Other Considerations
The OHSA or Occupational Health and Safety Administration require that forklifts used on a continual basis have to be inspected at the completion of every shift. The driver should check the machine for any type of mechanical problems and the tires must be inspected for excessive wear, cuts or obvious tire damage. Any issues that are detected need to be dealt with as soon as possible to maintain safety.