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Maintaining Forks on the Forklift

It’s called a FORKlift. They’re right there in the name of the truck.

Yet, forklift forks are frequently the forgotten piece of the puzzle when it comes time for inspecting and maintaining a lift.

Think about it. The forks do all the heavy work, they get dragged on the floor and make hard contact with the materials they are moving, not to mention the impact with walls and shelving as loads are delivered or picked up.

Your forks are the forgotten heroes.

You’re told to inspect your forks at the beginning of every shift but that rarely happens. OSHA even directs you to give them a thorough inspection by an experienced professional periodically.

3 Different Types of Forklifts

If you’re trying to figure out what type of forklift might work best for your facility, here are three things that can help you make your decision.

There are three types of forklift trucks and the one that is best for you depends on what you are using it for and the conditions in which you will be using the lift.

Gas: Powered by liquid petroleum gas these lifts are competitively-priced and popular. They can generally be used indoors or outdoors and are workhorses that can handle long shifts and arduous conditions.

While they do give off noxious emissions, they are generally cleaner than diesel lifts (more on those later) and they tend to run quieter than their diesel counterparts.

All About Pallet Trucks

Stopping just shy of a driver-operated forklift, pallet trucks date back to the late 1800’s, when a basic pallet rack was invented to lift loads just a few inches off the floor, but not to move loads from one location to another.

The pallet jack that most closely resembles the type we see today was manufactured in the 1920’s and they quickly became a versatile tool for moving smaller materials in small spaces.
Pallet trucks, sometimes referred to as “jacks,” are frequently seen in micro-breweries, manufacturing plants, warehouses and factories and can move loads of various sizes in small spaces, and on and off smaller trucks and vans.
Pallet trucks come in two categories: Manual, and powered.

New Year Checklist

With the dawning of a new year, and plenty of people vowing to make 2018 count, there’s no better time to re-dedicate yourself to ensuring your forklift fleet is in tip-top shape.

Hopefully, your operators start every shift with a complete inspection already (since it’s required by OSHA), but let’s take this one a little deeper to give you a good look at just what condition your fleet is in.

Start with your forks. Look hard for cracks and bent tines. Little cracks and faults can become big costly problems very quickly if left unchecked.