Tips for forklift tyre safety and cost saving
As we head toward spring and summer in Queensland, Brisbane businesses will be preparing for warmer weather. This includes ensuring your forklift tyres are fit for a new season as your business grows.
In this article, you’ll find three tips to get your forklift tyres spring and summer ready here in Brisbane.
1. Check for tyre damage
Damaged forklift tyres reduce handling and braking ability on forklifts. This makes it more difficult for operators to work effectively, and it increases the danger that forklifts pose to pedestrians in your warehouse or distribution centre. This is before any cost of damaged goods is considered.
Forklift tyres are among the most abused. They come into constant contact with kerbs and other structures. If not inflated properly, underinflation increases damage through wear and tear. Worn forklift tyres are dangerous and most susceptible to blowouts.
Put a regular tyre check on your forklift operators’ checklist, to discover the cuts, grazes and bumps that reduce the effectiveness of a forklift’s tyres and could put them and others at risk of injury through an avoidable accident.
2. Check your forklift tyres’ tread depth
The tread on your forklift tyres is essential to the traction your forklift gets when being driven. The correct tread depth will ensure that water is dispersed effectively and forklifts don’t aquaplane – a risk when the roads are hot and dry and then wetted by a sudden rainfall (or water used in your yard).
Tread aids handling. It increases grip and reduces braking distances.
Take the time to inspect all your forklift tyres and ensure that they have the correct tread. If not, have them replaced now.
3. Never operate forklifts on incorrectly inflated tyres
Ensure that your forklift operators check their forklift tyre inflation pressures at least once per day. This is best done at the start of a shift when the tyre is cold.
Poorly inflated forklift tyres increase the risks of reduced stability, decreased traction, and faster tyre wear. Tyres with lower-than-required pressures will heat up faster. They will fail earlier, and this will increase your forklift tyre costs.
By following these three forklift tyre tips, your forklift tyres should last longer and improve health and safety in the workplace. Your employees will thank you, as will your bottom line.
One final tip: never remove an inflated tyre from a forklift, and ensure that only trained and authorised forklift tyre fitters remove and install tyres and wheels on your forklifts.
For more information about our forklift tyres and services for businesses, call Darra Tyres, and learn why Brisbane businesses put their faith in us.
Keeping your family and fleet safe,
Kevin Wood