Around forklift trucks, the forklift tire should be a lot like Grandpa wanted of kids, better seen than heard. Simply round and black until something goes wrong, forklift tires carry our loads, protect the forklift operators and the products transported. They are of course the only suspension a lift truck has, and also are critical to the stability of the machine.

Too often some technicians see the planned maintenance effort or PM as something that has to be avoided or rushed through in order to get onto more exciting. More, there are many maintenance providers that see the PM call as a loss leader that's priced low in order to attract customers. Often technicians are told to drop the oil, lubricate the high points and get onto more profitable work. We know this because we've hired our share of technicians that had to be retrained away from that line of thought.

Planned maintenance isn't free, it isn't as glamorous as other work and like any maintenance, it is still disruptive to the forklift owner's schedule. Good or thorough planned maintenance is critical however, to avoid unexpected and disruptive forklift down time. No one wants to see a unit go out of service unexpectedly during the work day. Never mind the headaches involved in resolving the problem, can you calculate what the lost productivity costs?

The forklift rental business is robust and growing. Companies with lean fleets find themselves temporarily in need of additional equipment to deal with a variety of reasons, seasonal or unexpected demand, rare use or emergency replacement while another unit is repaired to name just a few.

It has to be stressed that a rental forklift, once on site, imparts the same responsibilities on the renter that forklift ownership carries. Like forklift ownership, trained drivers and adequate supervision help insure safe use and practices.

Warehouses can be especially tricky to keep well-lit, especially in aisles, where tall, packed shelving units may block overhead lights. Regardless of the difficulty, employers must make sure forklift operators can see what they're driving into - visibility is a crucial prerequisite for the safe use of lift trucks.

But how dim is "too dim?" Given the variance in eyesight between individuals, an aisle that seems perfectly visible to one forklift operator may be dangerously murky to the next. Here are the main factors to consider when examining lighting in forklift traffic areas: