Is Your Forklift OSHA Compliant? Eight Point Checklist For Safe and Compliant Forks

At Riekes Equipment, safety is our top priority and a key focus for us when it comes to helping our customers. For this reason, we beg the question: Is your company OSHA compliant? In order to maintain compliance, it is a good practice to “spot check” equipment regularly. One of those “spots” we’re going to be looking at today is industrial truck forks.

Make Sure Your Forks are in Compliance

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) requires that if forks reach 10% wear, they should be replaced. Amazingly, just 10% wear decreases the capacity of the lift truck by 20%! This is why it’s so important to spot check to make sure the integrity of your lift truck has not been hindered.

Here’s what you should look out for when examining your forks:

1. Check if the fork shows surface cracks?
2. Do the fork hooks show wear?
3. Are the fork markings still legible?
4. Ate the blades and shank straight?
5. Is the fork angle from blade to shank straight?
6. Is there is a difference in height of fork tips?
7. Make sure the positioning lock is in working order.
8. Does the fork blade or shank show wear?

OSHA requires that if a fork shows any of those defects, it should be withdrawn from service and should either be discarded or properly repaired. If you’re not sure if your forks are in compliance, Riekes is here to help. With solutions at every price point, there is no excuse to ignore safety standards.