MRO Today - Lift truck maintenance

Lift truck maintenance

A well maintained lift truck fleet can improve the productivity of your material handling operations

by Van Clarkson, Director, Fleet Management, Hyster

Best practices in maintenance can make your lift trucks more productive by reducing unscheduled downtime. Your service company should have skilled technicians with years of experience servicing all makes of lift trucks. By committing to a maintenance schedule recommended by a professional service company, you can ensure that your fleet is in top shape with maximum uptime.

Service provider options
You have a number of options when choosing a service provider for your material handling equipment. So how do you choose the one that is right for your business needs? Van Clarkson, director of fleet management with Hyster Company, offers this advice, “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. I encourage prospective customers to do their homework. Look at the reputation of the provider and be sure the maintenance plan ensures each and every truck on your agreement receives a thorough inspection, from fork to counterweight, to help ensure little problems do not turn into big, expensive ones.

Choosing a service provider to do your scheduled maintenance by price alone can leave you paying more in the long run through additional unscheduled downtime and more costly, major repairs.

Comprehensive record keeping
Controlling the quality of service is of the utmost importance. In order to ensure that your fleet’s maintenance needs are being fulfilled, make sure your service company has a procedure checklist that is completed by the technician for every lift truck in your fleet. This checklist will then become a permanent record of your lift truck fleet’s maintenance and condition.

Breaking with tradition, flexibility is the key
Any periodic maintenance plan should be based on each lift truck’s application, make, model and operating environment. A periodic maintenance program should include different services based on the number of hours of service throughout the year. An example plan would include:

Every 250 hours or six weeks for IC trucks; Every 500 hours or three months for electric trucks:
• System lubrication and general inspection
        • Operational evaluation
        • Engine oil and filter change
        • Wheels and tires - check for damage
        • Hydraulic lines - check for wear or leakage

Additional items to perform every 1,000 hours or six months of operation:
• Complete tune-up
• Fuel filter change

Additional items to perform every 2,000 hours or 1 year of operation:
        • Antifreeze coolant change
        • Transmission fluid and filter change
        • Hydraulic oil and filter change
        • Clean and repack wheel bearings
        • Brake system inspection

And, always refer to the operator’s manual for the maintenance schedule for your truck.

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