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Fork Maintenance and Inspection

By Trucktruth.com, May 27th, 2009

Ignoring the condition of the forks on your forklifts can cost you time and money! If you’re not inspecting your forks at least every 12 months, you are not in compliance with ASME/ANSI B56.1-2000. This could result in unsafe operation of a lift truck that results in lost loads or serious personal injury to your employees.

Lift truck forks are often mistreated and forgotten. Forks last a long time if treated properly, but they can look as good when they are used as when they were new – minus a little paint. Here are a few examples of how lift truck forks can show damage:

• Surface cracks – these can be determined by visual inspection or subjected to a “nondestructive crack detection process.??? The forks should never be returned to service if surface cracks are detected.
• Bent Blade or Shank – If deviation from straightness exceeds 0.5% of the length of the blade or height of the shank, the fork should never be returned to service.
• Fork Angle – Any fork with a deviation of greater than 3 degrees from the original specification should never be returned to service.
• Difference in Fork Height of Fork Tips – If the difference in tip heights exceed 3% of the length of the blade, the set of forks should never be returned to service.
• Wear of Fork Blade and Shank – If the thickness is reduced to 90% of the original thickness, the fork should never be returned to service.
• Wear of Fork Hooks – If there is substantial wear to an extent that the clearance between the fork and the fork carrier becomes excessive, the fork should never be returned to service.

Also, worn forks can reduce the capacity of the lift truck. If the forks remain in use and it’s assumed that they can lift the same load as usual, there is a risk of losing the load in a fork breakage costing you considerable money… not to mention the time needed to get a new set of forks on order and replaced. The Industrial Truck Association recommends that forks be withdrawn from service when the fork blade’s thickness has been reduced by 10%; however, few users understand that a 10% reduction in blade thickness results in capacity reduction of 20%. This translates to a 20% reduction in the safety factor of the pair of forks.

Fork inspections should be performed by the manufacturer or an expert of equal competence. Your local Hyster dealer has such an expert who can perform these free inspections on a regular basis. At the same time, the dealer can make recommendations to keep your forklifts up and running with no loss of time and money, thereby providing a safer work environment for your employees. Contact your local Authorized Hyster dealer today to schedule your free fork inspection.