5 Tips to Properly Maintain your Forklift

There is absolutely no need for heavy-duty machinery to translate into heavy costs or heavy accidents. Professionals that use forklifts in a non-stop, quotidian manner (and at times even in frantic rhythms), will tell you that the importance of these machines to their work is crucial; their perfect function vital. In fact, without them, the job simply can’t be done.

Proper forklift maintenance will ensure not only the elimination of unpleasant disruptions from any professional’s vocabulary, but will also seal a long-term beneficial use and thus greater return-on-investment and peace of mind.

There are some very useful – and easy – tips, that if we follow will help us make the most of our forklifts.

1. Inspections on a Daily Basis - It is very important to check your forklift daily, before the start of every shift. Even a look on its external appearance can be very telling. A list (or better said routine) of specific steps should be set and religiously performed every single day. It is a common phenomenon in all sectors and all parts of human activity, professional or not; we drive ourselves into problematic situations due to the failure to perform the most basic mechanisms and safety procedures. A well-trained, responsible forklift operator will begin using their machine before even getting on it and switching it on. We cannot stress enough the pivotal importance of meticulous, thorough, continuous inspections. To prevent is always preferable.
2. Tires- The forklift’s tires must always be in top shape! Inflated to their optimal pressure. The risk of accidents will be reduced and the cost of usage will also decrease as gas economy will be ensured. Keep in mind that:

• Over-inflation can lead to the tires’ blow-out, thus downtime for your business and a forklift kept out of action.
• Under-inflation will affect the forklift’s traction, something that might also cause dangerous accidents.
• Proper- inflation will guarantee balance and will lead to the tires’ even wear! Balance is a key notion in everything! Isn’t it?
1. Brakes- Noticing brake-related problems is very important. If any issue appears, it must be fixed with no delay at all.- the earlier the better. Poorly-functioning brakes means working under extremely dangerous conditions and this could have serious repercussions to your workers’ and business’ well-being. With time and use, brakes will become softer and lose some of their force. Brake pads or calipers must be changed when needed. Quick repairs of this kind guarantee nonstop-smooth-functioning. To stop and to march on, are of equal importance.
2. Follow the instruction manual’s recommendations- Like any other machine, a forklift will come with a manual, including all the manufacturer’s guidelines and recommendations for every specific model. It is more than advisable to use and function all machinery following precisely these recommendations. There are always restrictions and limitations that must not be overlooked or ignored. To improvise with a machine or overworking it exceeding its limits can be very harmful; even fatal. A harmonious use is oftentimes (if not always) the most sensible and most reasonable.
3. Deal with all issues as they come up- Don’t let time go by. To deal with all issues the moment they come up is imperative. A one-time malfunction will become recurrent if we let it drag endlessly out; it will become costlier and more dangerous too. Immediate repair of any mechanical problem your forklift might present, will mean maximization of security, productivity and profit.

When it comes to forklift maintenance, consistency and repetition are essential elements. And even if many of the things we have talked about, seem commonsensical, everyday dynamics and all kinds of momentary interruptions might make us absent-minded or forgetful.

Simple tasks and actions like checking and changing our forklift’s fluids, or ensuring that the forks are always straight, will prove life-time-AND-money-saving.

The cheapest and easiest investment to be made, is the proper use and maintenance of your machinery. You will definitely not regret it. It may come as a surprise how effortlessly you can prolong your forklifts estimated life-spam from its usual 5 to 7 years, up to 8, 9 or even 10.