Regular maintenance is one of the best ways to keep your forklift running safely, efficiently, and reliably. It also reduces downtime and prevents costly repairs.
Inspecting forklifts regularly allows you to catch issues like faulty tires and unsafe attachments before they become big problems. This saves you money on employee injuries, inventory loss, and repair costs.
Safety
Forklifts are heavy machinery requiring special care to operate safely and efficiently. A maintenance plan that fits your forklift based on its make, model, age, and usage will help you to maximize productivity while keeping your employees safe.
It’s also important to follow safety best practices when servicing forklifts, like common forklift repairs. This can prevent accidents and injuries that can lead to downtime and cost your business a lot of money in the long run. For example, workers should wear proper PPE to protect them from dangerous chemicals and other hazards, like exhaust fumes and asbestos.
Another critical element to maintaining the safety of your forklifts is regular inspections. This will help to identify problems that are easy to repair before they escalate and become dangerous. For instance, if the brakes become increasingly soft over time, examining and fixing a smooth brake is much easier than waiting until it breaks completely.
Similarly, if you see that the forks are wearing down, you should be able to replace them before they cause an accident. The metal on the fork gradually wears down, and a tiny bit of unnoticed wear can significantly reduce your forklift capacity.
Efficiency
Forklift maintenance is necessary to keep your forklift running at peak performance. It can help you avoid expensive repairs, improve productivity, and keep your workers safe by preventing accidents and workplace hazards.
A well-maintained forklift can extend its useful life, allowing it to perform for years. It also helps to minimize downtime.
Whether you own or lease your forklifts, maintaining them regularly is a smart way to save money on operational costs. When you schedule routine inspections, you can catch problems before they cause downtime or need costly repairs.
The recommended maintenance intervals for forklifts vary by manufacturer and operating environment. For example, a forklift used in a chemical plant requires more frequent servicing than one used at a retail warehouse.
Following the manufacturer’s recommendations, you can ensure your forklift is up and running when needed. Moreover, if caught early, it’s easier to find minor issues that may lead to bigger ones.
An experienced technician inspecting your equipment regularly will reduce the need for expensive or emergency repairs. Additionally, it can help you recoup more of your investment when you trade in your forklifts for new ones.
Reliability
Regular forklift maintenance is essential to keeping a warehouse’s material-handling equipment in peak condition. This preventative maintenance helps reduce downtime, increase productivity, and reduce maintenance costs – all of which are vital to the success of any business.
In addition, forklift maintenance improves safety in the workplace. It catches problems like leaky hoses, faltering brakes, and other issues before they can cause accidents and impede your team’s ability to operate the forklift safely.
This can be done by conducting daily inspections of forklifts before use. These checks are an OSHA requirement and help you avoid injuries that might result from faulty forklifts.
These inspections also help catch other potential hazards in the workplace, such as loose attachments and unsafe extensions. Having these issues seen in time will help prevent employee or customer injuries, damage to your inventory and facility, and expensive repairs later on.
Depending on your fleet size, operational hours, and environment, you may need to conduct monthly forklift maintenance. These monthly service and inspection items are typically less frequent than those based on daily inspections but should be performed diligently by trained technicians.
Value
If you use a forklift in your business, keeping up with regular maintenance is essential. It’s a critical part of maximizing productivity and ensuring the long-term health of your equipment.
By performing daily inspections before each operator’s shift and periodic in-depth maintenance, you can keep your forklift running at its best and reduce the risk of serious accidents. This saves you time and money by avoiding expensive repairs that can interrupt your workflow.
Additionally, your team will be more productive and avoid downtime due to unexpected breakdowns. Downtime can cost thousands of dollars per minute.
Fortunately, professional forklift companies have maintenance schedules that make keeping your equipment up and running easy. With a maintenance plan, you know exactly how much you’ll be paying per month, and your technicians will come out to perform the service when it’s convenient for your company.
Maintaining your forklift is essential to increase its lifespan and operational safety and improve its resale value. A well-maintained forklift is more appealing to potential buyers, so you can recoup more of your initial investment when it’s time to trade it in.
