It could be simple to overlook the essential tire, when it comes to the maintenance of the lift truck. When you pick the wrong tire for your lift truck, you can put huge increases on your operating expenses, and more importantly increase your safety risks. If on the other hand, you pick correct type of tire you can enjoy substantial cost-savings, improved safety and an overall more effective operation. A correctly selected tire could actually lessen the downtime for replacement and potentially last 40 percent longer.
The lift truck tire is a quite complex component of the equipment. It is therefore, easy to pick the wrong type accidentally. There are so many different kinds of tires and brands, with various compounds and treads. This means you should be totally prepared with the correct data when you are going shopping for tires so that you could decide on some tough and safe alternatives to help prolong the life of your forklift.
Your business should decide on the particular tire for their machinery based on the type of surface the equipment would be operated on. Indoor applications and smoother surfaces for instance, would normally utilize tires that are smaller in size and made from rubber. On the contrary, outdoor operations require pneumatic tires. Pneumatic tires have a rubber tread and are filled with compressed air. These features give them a great grip on rough and uneven surfaces.
Forklift Tire Safety
Every year, 200 individuals are killed in forklift or lift truck related accidents each year. Ensuring lift truck safety, such as proper inspection practices, can all contribute in to avoiding these dangerous and horrible accidents from happening.
Pre-Work Check
The tires of the lift truck have to be inspected before every shift. Tires must ideally have the right air pressure, which is set by the manufacturer of the tire. This is extremely vital because if the tire pressure is very low, the machine could accidentally tip over when a load is being raised.
Types
The tires used on indoor lift trucks will be made out of solid rubber.
Other Considerations
OSHA or the Occupational Health and Safety Administration places a requirement on the continual utilization of forklifts. These lift trucks must be inspected at the end of each shift. The operator should check the machine for any kind of mechanical problems and the tires must be looked over for cuts, excessive wear or apparent damage to the tires. Any problems that are detected should be addressed as soon as possible to maintain safety.