It could be simple to neglect the essential tire, when it comes to the maintenance of the lift truck. When you select the wrong tire for your lift truck, you can put huge increases on your operating costs, and more significantly increase your safety risks. If however, you choose correct tire you can enjoy improved safety, significant cost-savings and an overall more effective operation. A properly selected tire can actually lessen the downtime for replacement and probably last 40% longer.
Tires are actually quite complex parts on the machine; hence, it is easy to choose the wrong kind accidentally. There are so many different types of tires and brands, with different 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 select some tough and safe options to help extend the life of your forklift.
The specific kind of tire selected for a lift truck depends on the type of surface you would be utilizing the machine on. Like for instance, smoother surfaces and indoor applications generally use tires which are made from rubber and that are a smaller size. On the contrary, outdoor applications require pneumatic tires. Pneumatic tires have a rubber tread and are filled with compressed air. These features give them a great grip on surfaces which are rough and uneven.
Forklift Tire Safety
Each year, there are about 200 individuals killed in accidents related for lift truck use. Ensuring lift truck safety, like for example proper inspection practices, could all contribute in to preventing these horrible and dangerous mishaps from occurring.
Pre-Work Inspection
Prior to each shift, the forklift's tires have to be checked. Ideally, they should have the proper air pressure, as set forth by the maker. This is extremely important because if the tire pressure is very low, the machine could inadvertently tip over when a load is being lifted.
Kinds
For indoor work, forklifts that have solid tires made out of rubber are the best alternative.
Other Considerations
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration or OSHA require that forklifts used on a continual basis have to be inspected at the completion of each and every shift. The operator must check the machine for any mechanical problems and the tires should be looked over for cuts, excessive wear or apparent tire damage. Any problems which are detected have to be dealt with as soon as possible to maintain safety.