It could really be simple to overlook the essential tire, when it comes to the maintenance of the lift truck. When you choose the wrong tire for your forklift, you can put large increases on your operating costs, and more significantly increase your safety risks. If however, you pick right tire you can enjoy improved safety, significant cost-savings and an overall more efficient operation. A properly selected tire could really lessen the downtime for replacement and potentially last 40 percent longer.
The lift truck tire is a somewhat complex part of the machinery. It is therefore, easy to pick the wrong type accidentally. There are a lot of different kinds of tires and brands, with different treads and compounds. This means you must be fully prepared with the correct data when you are going shopping for tires so that you can decide on some safe and tough options to help prolong the life of your lift truck.
The particular type of tire chosen 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 utilize tires which are made from rubber and that are smaller in size. On the other hand, outdoor operations require pneumatic tires. Pneumatic tires have a rubber tread and are filled with compressed air. These features give them a good grip on uneven and rough surfaces.
Forklift Tire Safety
Each year, there are approximately 200 people killed in accidents related for forklift use. Ensuring lift truck safety, like for instance proper inspection practices, could all contribute in to avoiding these dangerous and horrible accidents from taking place.
Pre-Work Inspection
The tires of the forklift needs to be checked prior to every shift. Tires must ideally have the right air pressure, which is set by the tire manufacturer. This is really essential because if the tire pressure is very low, the machine could inadvertently tip over when a load is being lifted.
Kinds
For indoor work, lift trucks that have solid tires made out of rubber are the most suitable option.
Other factors
Occupational Health and Safety Administration or OSHA places a requirement on the continual utilization of lift trucks. These lift trucks must be inspected at the end of each shift. The operator has to check the machine for any kind of mechanical issues and the tires must be checked for excessive wear, cuts or apparent damage to the tires. Any problems that are detected need to be addressed as soon as possible to maintain safety.