How your fork lift truck can help with maintenance and repairs

Traditionally we always associate that the work of a fork lift truck or stacker truck is confined to lifting palletised loads on and off from delivery vehicles on to pallet racking or direct to the shop floor. Whilst it is true that this is their primary function, we at Action Handling Equipment encourage customers to view their lifting trucks as a much more versatile tool than just that.

Any businesses that have a factory, warehouse or assembly site will know that many maintenance and repair tasks have to be carried out at regular intervals to ensure the safe and continued operation of that area. Often this work can entail the need to apply a workforce at raised points around the site to carry out the required tasks. Fork lift trucks and stacker trucks can be used to lift a simple access platform to many of those raised points with ease. Access platforms (dependent on the model) can be used to safely raise one or two workers plus their tools to the required point. They are designed to securely lock on to the existing forks of the lifting truck and then they can be lifted or lowered just as would a pallet in the trucks normal mode of operation. There are several sizes and styles of access platforms available to suit your individual application. They can also be fitted with a large range of optional equipment like safety harnesses, tool trays, clip board holders, strip light bulb holders and a castor base that will enable the platform to be very easily moved around when it is not mounted on the fork lift truck.

There is even a folding access platform model that can be used and then folded away to be stored when not in use. This provides good space saving and also means that the platform is less susceptible to damage when not being used. Access platforms have a capacity up to 250kg and are completely safe in operation because they are either fitted with a hinged safety door, lift up safety access bar or retaining device that keeps the workers securely inside the cage until they operate the exit mechanisms.

There is no longer a need to use additional bulky and sometimes very expensive equipment such as cherry pickers, access towers or scaffolding. Ascending platforms are invaluable when performing simple tasks:

Luminaire installation

Light fixture maintenance

Repairing pipes

Inspecting roofs

Electrical installations

Before using a forklift truck or forklift stacker with a boarding platform, it is important to check the specification to ensure that it complies with current HSE regulations. Sometimes you may need to extend the fork length of a forklift truck to have enough fork length to carry the platform. This can be achieved by fitting some fork extensions to the existing forks to provide the additional fork length required.