It could really be simple to neglect the important tire, when it comes to the maintenance of the forklift. When you choose the wrong tire for your lift truck, you can put large increases on your operating expenses, and more importantly increase your safety risks. If however, you pick correct kind of tire you could enjoy improved safety, significant cost-savings and an overall more effective operation. A correctly chosen tire could really reduce the downtime for replacement and probably last 40% longer.
Tires are actually somewhat complex parts on the machine; hence, it is easy to select the wrong kind accidentally. There are a lot of different types of tires and brands, with different treads and compounds. This means you should be totally prepared with the right data when you are buying tires so that you could choose some safe and tough options to help extend the life of your forklift.
The specific kind of tire chosen for a lift truck depends on the type of surface you would be using the equipment on. Like for instance, indoor applications and smooth surfaces usually utilize tires that are made from rubber and that are smaller in size. 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 surfaces which are uneven and rough.
Lift Truck Tire Safety
Every year, 200 individuals are killed in forklift or lift truck related accidents each year. Ensuring lift truck safety, such as correct inspection practices, could all contribute in to avoiding these horrible and dangerous accidents from taking place.
Pre-Work Inspection
Before each and every shift, the forklift's tires have to be checked. Ideally, they should have the right air pressure, as set forth by the manufacturer. This is really important because if the tire pressure is very low, the machinery can inadvertently tip over when a load is being raised.
Kinds
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 utilized on a continual basis need to be inspected at the completion of every shift. The operator must inspect the machinery for any mechanical issues and the tires must be checked for cuts, excessive wear or obvious tire damage. Any problems that are detected have to be dealt with as soon as possible to maintain safety.