Michigan is home to a number of industries, but the agricultural and food processing industries are two of the biggest. If you are working in any sort of industrial or warehouse processing environment, chances are high that you will have a strong need for used forklifts to help move heavy loads. Some of the largest food processing plants can stretch on for miles, and need qualified vehicles that will be able to safely and efficiently move these supplies from one end to the other. Before making your decision about which vehicles to purchase, there are a few factors to take into consideration.
Safety should always come first when looking at the different used forklifts. There are approximately 85 forklift fatalities per year, according to OSHA statistics. These can usually be prevented with requiring certification of all the employees who are going to be driving your used forklifts. Because forklifts may vary slightly depending on the make and model, before you make any new or used purchases you will want to take them for test drives.
A test drive can help you learn a lot about a vehicle. During the test drive you will want to take the forklift on any of the regular positions that are used in your work environment.
Some of these safety maneuvers that you can start out with when testing the used forklifts include a series of figure eights, and gunning the forklift to a minimum of five miles per hour before making a sudden a stop. In a crowded and stressful food manufacturing plant, it is necessary to be able to put the brakes on quickly and reliably, to avoid injuries such as pinning workers to the wall or in between two forklifts. Forklift crashes are rare but they have been known to happen as well.
Another safety precaution to take when beginning the process of comparing used forklifts is to ask to see all maintenance records. If a vehicle has had recurring problems in the past with something serious such as its braking abilities, you will probably want to pass on it no matter how cost-effective it is. Be sure to also take a close look at tires, by testing them immediately.
Some recommend the “kick test” of tires, but the most important thing is simply to test the pressure that they are able to withstand. Also, because tires are something that can be easily replaced, this may not be the most important issue to contend with. The vehicle’s safety features as a whole should be looked at by a qualified mechanic.
Safety should always come first when looking at the different used forklifts. There are approximately 85 forklift fatalities per year, according to OSHA statistics. These can usually be prevented with requiring certification of all the employees who are going to be driving your used forklifts. Because forklifts may vary slightly depending on the make and model, before you make any new or used purchases you will want to take them for test drives.
A test drive can help you learn a lot about a vehicle. During the test drive you will want to take the forklift on any of the regular positions that are used in your work environment.
Some of these safety maneuvers that you can start out with when testing the used forklifts include a series of figure eights, and gunning the forklift to a minimum of five miles per hour before making a sudden a stop. In a crowded and stressful food manufacturing plant, it is necessary to be able to put the brakes on quickly and reliably, to avoid injuries such as pinning workers to the wall or in between two forklifts. Forklift crashes are rare but they have been known to happen as well.
Another safety precaution to take when beginning the process of comparing used forklifts is to ask to see all maintenance records. If a vehicle has had recurring problems in the past with something serious such as its braking abilities, you will probably want to pass on it no matter how cost-effective it is. Be sure to also take a close look at tires, by testing them immediately.
Some recommend the “kick test” of tires, but the most important thing is simply to test the pressure that they are able to withstand. Also, because tires are something that can be easily replaced, this may not be the most important issue to contend with. The vehicle’s safety features as a whole should be looked at by a qualified mechanic.
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