It could be simple to overlook the essential tire, when it comes to the maintenance of the forklift. When you select the wrong tire for your lift truck, you could put large increases on your operating expenses, and more significantly increase your safety risks. If however, you pick right kind of tire you could enjoy significant cost-savings, improved safety and an overall more efficient operation. A correctly chosen tire could really reduce the downtime for replacement and potentially last 40 percent longer.
Tires are actually somewhat complex components on the machine; hence, it is easy to select the wrong kind accidentally. There are lots of different brands of tires and kinds, with various treads and compounds. This means you should be fully prepared with the correct information when you are going shopping for tires so that you could choose some tough and safe options to help extend the life of your lift truck.
Your business must choose the particular tire for their equipment based on the type of surface the machine would be operated on. Smoother surfaces and indoor applications for example, will generally use tires of a smaller size and made from rubber. On the other hand, outdoor applications need pneumatic tires. Pneumatic tires have a rubber tread and are filled with compressed air. These characteristics give them a great grip on uneven and rough surfaces.
Lift Truck Tire Safety
Each year, 200 individuals are killed in forklift or lift truck related accidents each year. Ensuring lift truck safety, like for example proper inspection practices, can all contribute in to preventing these dangerous and terrible mishaps from happening.
Pre-Work Check
Before each shift, the lift truck's tires need to be inspected. Ideally, they must have the proper air pressure, as set forth by the manufacturer. This is really vital because if the tire pressure is very low, the machinery could inadvertently tip over when a load is being raised.
Types
The tires used on indoor forklifts will be made out of solid rubber.
Other factors
Occupational Health and Safety Administration or OSHA places a requirement on the frequent utilization of lift trucks. These lift trucks are required to be inspected at the end of each and every shift. The operator must check the machinery for any kind of mechanical problems and the tires have to be checked for cuts, excessive wear or apparent damage to the tires. Any issues that are detected have to be addressed as soon as possible to maintain safety.