Increasing workplace efficiency has often been the number one objective for every business. Forklifts have been proven to maximize work efficiency in warehouses and sites. However, working with machines could pose risks and dangers to your workers. As mentioned in our previous article on improving workplace safety that the operator’s safety is often at risk if there are no proper safety measures put in place.
This is why it is important for sites to improve their safety measures to increase operator safety. Among the workers, forklift operators are the people who have the highest risk of accidents. To increase forklift operator safety, companies must ensure that the daily forklift inspections are done properly.
In this article, we will be discussing more on the most important aspects of a forklift daily inspection.
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What Should You Do In A Forklift Daily Inspection?
We have previously mentioned that a forklift daily inspection is a necessity for all forklift users. Executing daily inspections would not only help to maintain your forklift but also increase operator safety immensely. Here are the 5 steps you cannot miss if you are looking to increase forklift operator safety:
Tire Pressure Control
Just as any other vehicle, daily maintenance comes with tire pressure control. Ensure that the tires of the forklifts are at their normal pressure to reduce skidding or turning over because of the tires. The tire pressure may differ with different types of forklifts, it is recommended to inquire the forklift consultants or service centers before purchase. Alternatively, the information on tire pressure for your forklift is usually available in the manual.
The tire pressure requirements would also be different depending on the weather conditions. Since air expands in heat and contracts in cooler weather, you would want to adjust the tire pressure depending on the weather conditions. If your tire pressure requirement is 26 PSI, you may want to fill up to 24 PSI in hot weather.
Increase Safety Measures
One of the top priorities when it comes to working with forklifts is safety measures. It is important to have strict rules and regulations to prevent forklift accidents and increase operator safety. Ensure that your operators are always in their safety gear. Have separate lanes for forklifts and pedestrians. This would reduce the chances of the forklift colliding with pedestrians and potentially injuring both the operator and the pedestrians.
Machine Checking
If you think that checking the engines is only necessary when the forklifts are at the mechanics, well you are wrong. Checking the engines or hoses for leaks is an essential part of daily forklift inspections. Not only that, but the forklift operator or inspector should always check the forklift’s hardware and see if there are any cracks or rust.
Should there be any defects found, the forklift should be assessed and sent for repair as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the forklift should not be used. This is for the safety of the operator and the people who are around the site as well.
Forklift Fork Inspection
Inspecting a forklift’s exterior is just as important as the engine. The fork of the forklift is the most important part of the forklift that makes it effectively function. You must always remember to check the forks and ensure that there are no bents or cracks that could possibly lead to breakage when in use.
If the forks are not properly checked and broke while in use, it would harm the operator and even pedestrians. It might also cause some damage to the inventory being carried. Hence, inspecting the forks of the forklift is crucial to increase forklift operator safety.
Forklift Manual
Having a forklift manual on standby is a must. Of course, the forklift operator should have read the manual before operating the forklift, but people tend to forget. In case of an emergency, there should be a forklift manual in the forklift so that the operator could easily access information about the forklift.
Therefore, you must ensure that a forklift manual is available inside the forklift. This would definitely increase forklift operator safety.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a much simpler way to maintain your forklift, you could also leave it to the professional. With Forklift4s you will have a lot of options to choose from. Leave it to our professional mechanics to help you assess your forklift conditions and have it repaired in no time!