We’ve all heard the adage ‘prevention is better than cure’, and while it can apply to many aspects of life, it is especially true when it comes to forklift maintenance and service.
Forklifts are a vital piece of workplace equipment, often used multiple times a day for various tasks including loading and unloading, stacking, and moving items around site. Despite this, their usage can be easily underestimated, particularly when being operated by several members of one team.
But, without regular servicing and repair, the likelihood of a costly breakdown increases, and workplace safety may be compromised.
At West Coast Forklifts, we encourage clients to engage in proactive maintenance, booking in a regular service every three months or 250hrs, whichever comes first.
While it’s slightly more frequent than some manufacturers’ recommendations, it’s a schedule we’ve developed based on decades of experience and industry knowledge. We’ve found it helps clients in the long term by identifying small issues before they become big problems.
Some common issues detected during routine maintenance include;
- Brake wearing/brake failure
- Low engine or hydraulic oil
- Low battery water levels (particularly in electric forklifts)
- Hose splits
- Chain stretching
- Tyre wear
- Broken lights and/or broken reverse beeper
Why Regular Forklift Servicing Matters
While all relatively minor fixes, left unchecked or unresolved, they have the potential to pose a serious risk to forklift operators and those working around the machine.
Unfortunately, forklifts are involved in workplace injury and death every year, with every incident one too many.
Regular servicing and maintenance of all equipment, including forklifts, is a small but important factor in maintaining a safe workplace, and should never be overlooked.
Beyond the safety risks, a failure to regularly service your forklift fleet presents a financial risk, with a breakdown costing a business in lost productivity, missed deadlines, inability to service clients and emergency hire costs.
We understand that frequent servicing can be an inconvenience, particularly if your regular maintenance check falls during a busy period. However, we argue that the inconvenience of an unplanned breakdown, or worse, complete machine failure, is far greater.
This month marks the start of peak season for several industries ahead of the end of year rush. There will be many factors during this period that businesses can’t control, that will have an impact on day-to-day operations. However, in the same way that sporting coaches aim to ‘control the controllables’, proactive forklift servicing allows business to do the same, minimising safety risks and potential downtime, and keeping operations running smoothly when it matters most.