It can be simple to overlook the important tire, when it comes to the maintenance of the lift truck. When you pick the wrong tire for your forklift, you can put large increases on your operating costs, and more significantly increase your safety risks. If on the other hand, you pick correct type of tire you could enjoy improved safety, significant cost-savings and an overall more efficient operation. A correctly selected tire can really decrease the downtime for replacement and potentially last 40 percent longer.
The forklift tire is a somewhat complex part of the machine. It is thus, easy to select the wrong type accidentally. There are lots of different brands of tires and types, with a wide variety of compounds and treads. This means you should be totally prepared with the right data when you are going shopping for tires so that you could decide on some tough and safe options to help prolong the life of your forklift.
Your company must decide on the specific tire for their machinery based on the kind of surface the machine would be operated on. Indoor applications and smoother surfaces for instance, would normally 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 rough and uneven surfaces.
Lift Truck Tire Safety
Each year, there are approximately 200 individuals killed in accidents related for forklift use. Ensuring lift truck safety, such as correct inspection practices, could all contribute in to avoiding these terrible and dangerous accidents from happening.
Pre-Work Check
The tires of the lift truck needs to be inspected before each shift. Tires should 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 too low, the machinery could inadvertently tip over when a load is being raised.
Types
The tires utilized on indoor forklifts will be made out of solid rubber.
Other Considerations
Occupational Health and Safety Administration or OSHA places a requirement on the frequent use of lift trucks. These lift trucks must be checked at the end of every shift. The driver has to check the machine for any kind of mechanical issues and the tires must be inspected for cuts, excessive wear or apparent tire damage. Any problems that are detected must be addressed as soon as possible to maintain safety.