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2nd Oct 2020
Forklifts like most industrial equipment experience wear and tear on most of their movable parts which eventually renders them obsolete.
The ideal time to replace your forklift is after 10,000-12,000 hours of service after which they become both an operational liability and a safety risk.
However, before you can replace your forklift there are three important signs that should give you a signal whether it is time to consider a replacement, let us look at them.
1. Does it Experience Frequent Breakdown?
Nothing is costly to a business like frequent downtime. Old worn out forklifts which have reached the peak of their useful life experience more breakdowns.
If this is the case with your forklift despite the many repairs it goes through then it is a sure signal that is time to consider a replacement.
2. Do You Spend A Lot On Maintenance?
Periodic maintenance of a forklift is very important as it helps keeps the forklift in top shape.
However, if you need to constantly send your forklift for maintenance then it might be wiser to replace it.
These costs have the potential to increase your operational costs by a great degree.
3. Is it a Source of Safety Concerns?
When a forklift has been used for a long period of time its parts tend to fail in most occasions due to prolonged wear and tear.
Such a forklift needs to be replaced as it is a major safety risk to both the operator and pedestrians.
If your answer to any of these questions is "yes" then you need to replace your forklift after careful evaluation.
However, you should note that the time to replace a forklift differs from forklift to forklift. There are four factors that play an important role in determining when you will need to replace your forklift.
Type Of Forklifts Used
We have established that the amount of wear and tear that a forklift has been subjected to is a key determinant for its replacement.
Generally, forklifts that have more moving parts have a shorter life cycle compared to forklifts that have fewer parts because they experience more wear and tear.
For this reason, since ICE forklifts have more moving parts than electric forklifts they tend to wear out much faster.
Therefore, if you are using ICE forklifts for your operations their replacement time will come much earlier than the electric forklifts.
Application Of The Forklift
One of the key reasons why it is always important to use certified operators is that they are trained on the proper application of a forklift.
One of the wrong applications that forklifts are usually subjected to by untrained operators is overloading.
When a forklift is stretched beyond its limits its parts tend to get worn out much faster.
If this goes on for a while then the forklift will need to be replaced sooner than intended as it's either going to be unsafe for use or inefficient for successful operations.
Level of Maintenance
One of the most important things that a forklift operator should do before any operation is the pre-operation checks.
Normally during these checks, they are able to identify the problems the forklifts might have and recommend them for immediate maintenance.
The maintenance that is done usually serves to repair the forklift to prevent further damage.
When this maintenance is ignored the rate of damage is accelerated thus making the forklift a candidate for early replacement.
It is therefore important to schedule your forklift for regular checks complimented with periodic maintenance.
Long Hours Of Operation
It is natural to have business operations that last long hours. If you have fewer forklifts to match the volume of work to be done you will end up stretching the available forklifts.
What this usually does is that it accelerates the rate of wear and tear on the forklift.
In the end, you will not only have to replace the forklift but it becomes counterproductive as it will open up your operations to frequent downtime that can be quite costly to your business.
What are some of the factors that you commonly use to determine when to replace your forklift?
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