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15th Oct 2021
A forklift attachment is no doubt one very important addition to your forklift. Over time, they will not only make your operators much more efficient but also reduce your costs by a great margin. However, to ensure you get value for your money and uphold safety here are four factors you should consider.
Get The Right Forklift Attachment
Just like forklifts, forklift attachments come in different shapes and sizes. Therefore the first thing you need to do is to establish the exact goal you need to fulfill using the forklift attachment. This will then help you choose the right kind of attachment for the job. For instance, if your goal is to ensure you can load and unload the pallets very fast then you should definitely go for side-shifters. If you work a lot with cartons and want to reduce the cost you spend on pallets then for go carton clamps.
Retrain Your Staff
Even though you have already trained forklift operators, every time you are introducing a new attachment you need to make sure that they are retrained. The reason for this is because each new attachment comes with instructions touching on their use that your operators might not be familiar with. The training will guide them on things to do with the mechanical limitations of the attachments and operation best practices for both safety and efficiency.
Consult Your Manufacturer
Since attachments are usually meant to enable a forklift do more than the manufacturer initially had in mind then the manufacturer's written approval must be sought before using any attachment. This is especially recommended if the attachments you are thinking of adding to the forklift truck affect it's capacity or have a bearing on safe operations. In the event of a negative response from the manufacturer, you can consult a registered engineer to help you with the structural modifications after a thorough analysis to help make it safer to use the attachment.
Schedule Regular Maintenance
Like any other forklift part, the attachments are usually subjected to wear and tear every day during operation. Therefore, they also need consistent maintenance to ensure they are safe for operations and this can only be done when the maintenance is scheduled regularly. Through maintenance, you will be able to detect any cracks or deformations on the attachments and have them corrected in good time to avoid any downtime and boost productivity. It will also help keep your staff safe from any accidents that might arise from using damaged forklift attachments.
Therefore, the first thing you should do is get the right forklift attachment that matches your business needs. After that take your operators through retraining so that they are well equipped to operate the forklifts with the attachments. Since the attachments will wear out from frequent use, schedule them for regular maintenance. Something else that is very critical is to consult a manufacturer or a professional engineer to guide you on the best modification and application for any forklift attachment.
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