Lift Truck Services 

At Lift Truck Services as well as forklift sales and forklift hire, we pride ourselves on providing quality services, breakdown repair, routine maintenance and servicing of forklifts, lift trucks, forklift attachments and accessories at our Echuca, Bendigo and Albury locations.

To book your lift truck, forklift or other machinery in for a service, maintenance or repair simpy complete the service breakdown request form with your details and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

• Service Breakdown Request
• Pre Start Checklist

The Importance of a Pre Start Checklist

At Lift Truck Services we recommend that you do a daily pre-start or pre-shift inspection of forklifts. This way, operators know that the forklifts are ready to go to work and it identifies problems before they turn into costly repairs. Lift Truck Services have our own online Pre Start Checklist which we encourage our customers to use, or develop your own that suits your specific needs. For example, include an inspection of air filters and air cleaners if the forklift is being operated in dusty conditions.

Your lift truck or forklift operation and maintenance manual will have recommendations about what operators should check each day. Generally, you should look for

• Damage or faulty operation
• Fuel and coolant leaks
• Fully functional operating lights

Forklift and Lift Truck Visual Inspection

When conducting a walk around visual inspection of the forklift, the operator should:

• Inspect the tyres and rims for damage or wear - make sure the load backrest extension and tilt cylinder socket bolts are in place and the wheel nuts are tight.
• Clear the overhead guard of debris.
• Examine forks for cracks or bends - if cracks are present, the forks should be removed from service.
• Check fluid levels - forklifts with engines need the engine crankcase oil and engine coolant levels checked.
• Check fuel levels.
• Check hydraulic oil levels and fill if required.
• Electric models - check battery water level, remembering to fill it only if the battery has already been charged and cooled down. 

Operating Inspection

Start the forklift and check the operations of:

• Backup lights (if equipped)
• Brake pedal and parking brake lever
• Service brakes 
• Mast and lift chains
• Seat adjustment
• Seat belt 
• Horn
• Steering wheel
• Inching pedal
• Power source (engine or battery)

Once the pre-shift inspection is completed, have your operators sign and date the form, then give it to their supervisor. After looking it over to see if anything indicates the need for repair, supervisors should place the checklist in the forklift's file. If you are ever inspected by OHS you'll be asked to present these checklists. Failure to produce this record could put you at risk for citations.

Maintaining a safe environment

Be sure to make it company policy for operators to report anything they find that is not in good working order. The faulty forklift should be tagged (many companies make it red) and taken out of service until repairs have been made. Remind operators that safety and productivity suffer if operators ignore their findings and try to get the forklift to work for 'just one more shift'.

Phone Lift Truck Services on 1300 669 920, contact us via email or complete our forms.