Preventive forklift maintenance is a light lift, but it delivers heavy-duty benefits for your operation.

Planned maintenance for forklifts can extend the overall life of your equipment, save on preventable maintenance repairs, minimize the risk of safety incidents, reduce operator downtime, and increase overall efficiency.

Here’s a look at what preventive forklift maintenance is, how it can benefit your operation, and how to create a proactive maintenance plan that works.

What is Preventive Forklift Maintenance?

Preventive forklift maintenance is a proactive approach aimed at minimizing the risk of equipment failure. Based on hours usage and specific timeframes, it allows you to address minor issues before they become disastrous problems and helps ensure operator safety.

During a planned forklift maintenance visit, mechanics check that all the machine’s functions are working properly and that all the safety mechanisms are intact. They also drive the equipment, performing similar checks on the forklift’s systems when it’s in motion. From there, they document the maintenance and draw up a list of items that need to be repaired.

Among other items, preventive maintenance can include:

• Changing out fluids, oil, coolant, and filters
• Regreasing necessary grease points
• Replacing belts, hoses, brake pads, and hydraulic components based on manufacturer guidelines
• Installing updates recommended by the manufacturer
• Inspecting equipment for potential issues down the road 

Preventive Maintenance Versus Reactive Maintenance

While preventive maintenance is proactive, reactive maintenance is just the opposite: It is performed after an issue has already occurred.

It’s true that preventive maintenance does take some time to complete, but it can be planned for and easily worked in around busy schedules. Meanwhile, reactive maintenance is often unplanned and needs to happen immediately in order for equipment to function properly.

In many cases, reactive maintenance can be prevented by putting in place a preventive maintenance program.

In time, reactive maintenance also ends up being a lot more expensive than regular preventive maintenance as it involves costly equipment repairs and more downtime. That means your machines spend less time on the job site, and you’re more likely to have to explain unexpected delays to your customers.

It also comes down to the fact that different technicians are trained for different objectives. For instance, preventive maintenance technicians are trained to spot needed repairs on equipment before they cause a failure.  Repair mechanics, on the other hand, are trained and tooled to diagnose and repair equipment as quickly as possible.

Pro Tip: Planned maintenance for forklifts is often billed as a flat rate based on the size of the equipment and the number of machines being serviced. These types of services can currently range from $50 to $150. Reactive equipment repairs, on the other hand, are charged by the hour, meaning you are charged for the number of hours it takes mechanics to service your machine. 

Why Perform Preventive Maintenance?

Preventive forklift maintenance is always a good idea, but it especially comes into play as your operation grows.

For instance, it may be easy to keep track of maintenance intervals for one or two vehicles, but as your fleet grows beyond two or three vehicles to four or more, maintenance quickly becomes more complex.  

As your operation grows, in addition to a higher overall workload, you’ll need to manage service schedules, track parts inventory, document completed maintenance, and stay informed about manufacturer updates, all while keeping operations running smoothly.

Even if your fleet consists of fewer than four trucks, it’s still important to implement a preventive maintenance schedule now. This will help ensure everyone within your company is on the same page and that your business can scale when the time comes.

Key Maintenance Tasks

It may feel overwhelming to be tasked with setting up a proactive forklift maintenance program.

Here’s a checklist of preventive maintenance items for each type of forklift.

Pro Tip: Be sure that all mechanics are properly fitted with personal protective equipment before performing maintenance items.

Internal Combustion Engine Forklifts

Oil: Check oil levels to ensure they are in line with manufacturer guidelines. Change out oil based on the manufacturer’s recommended intervals and usage time.

Air filters: Replace air filters as needed or based on manufacturer recommendations.

Belts + hoses: Inspect belts and hoses for damage. Replace as needed.

Internal systems: Test and inspect the following systems within the forklift to ensure they are in proper working order: exhaust, ignition, cooling, transmission, drivetrain, suspension, and steering.

Propane-Powered Forklifts

Propane tank: Check for propane leaks and make sure the locator pin is in the proper position so to ensure the propane tank rests in the proper orientation.

Safety Tip: White frost, hissing sounds, and unpleasant odors can indicate a leak. Turn off the tank valve right away and ventilate the area to minimize the risk of fire or explosion.

Fuel Level: Check that the fuel level is at recommended levels.

Battery-Powered Forklifts

Batteries: Visually examine the batteries for leaks, damage, and corrosion. Immediately swap out compromised batteries.

Water levels: Check that water levels are at recommended levels. This can help prevent overheating and mitigate the risk of preventable repairs.

Wiring: Inspect wiring for fraying or chew marks. Note that rodents seeking warmth can harbor inside the forklift’s components, especially when machines are idle during colder seasons. Immediately replace wiring that’s been damaged as compromised wiring can cause electrical shorts and even fire. 

Chargers: Ensure that all battery chargers are undamaged and in proper working order. Replace chargers that work inefficiently or that have sustained damage.

General Forklift Maintenance

Forklift tines: Also known as forks, tines are a crucial part of any forklift as they are what carry the loads. Examine the tines for wear and tear, damage, or abnormalities. Document issues and repair or replace compromised tines immediately. 

Tires: Heavy use in tough environments can cause forklift tires to quickly become worn. Visually inspect tires for leaks and deflation. Check that the tire’s tread is not too worn. Note that depending on a forklift’s usage, one side of the tire may have deteriorated faster than the other. Replace damaged or leaking tires immediately.

Fluids: Forklifts require multiple fluids, such as brake and hydraulic. Check that all fluids within the forklift remain at the manufacturer’s recommended level. Ensure that fluid levels don’t drop below safe ranges before operations begin.

Brakes: Failing brakes can lead to life-altering consequences. Inspect brakes regularly to ensure they’re operating at full capacity. If an issue is noted, take it seriously and repair faulty brakes immediately.

Safety features: Double-check that safety features like mirrors, alarms, lights, horns, spotlights, and safety alerts are working as they should. These items help keep operators out of harm’s way and help ensure your company has fewer liability issues.

Electrical system: Make certain the wiring and electrical systems are in working order. Replace wires that have been damaged or frayed.

It’s important to also note that preventive maintenance checks can also include extensive checklists of systems so that repair technicians can make minor repairs before more extensive repairs are needed.

How Often Should Maintenance Be Performed?

If you’re wondering how often you should be taking care of preventive maintenance items, you’re not alone, and, like many things in life, the answer is “it depends.”

For instance, several factors determine how often preventive maintenance should be handled. These include:

• Original equipment manufacturer recommendations
• The environment in which the machines operate
• The types of jobs the machine performs
• The way operators use the equipment
• Equipment age — older equipment may need to be serviced more regularly
• Service log — if a specific component within a machine repeatedly poses recurring problems, you may need to monitor that item more frequently

Pro Tip: Keep a special close eye on machines that operate in dirty or dusty environments. If dirt contaminates a forklift’s oil, it can lead to premature engine failure. Similarly, if air filters collect too much dust, the engine may ingest it and fail.

To stay on top of these maintenance schedules, documentation is key.

Maintaining clear records helps ensure mechanics have a full history of the maintenance performed on each machine and allows for efficient tracking of service schedules and intervals.

It also helps track parts inventory and keep all equipment in compliance with regulations put in place by organizations like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the American National Standards Institute.

Finally, documentation takes the guesswork out of what maintenance will be needed—and when. By having a clear log of maintenance performed, mechanics can identify trends and help troubleshoot underlying issues.

When in doubt, read the operator’s manual for recommended maintenance intervals. You can also check with your dealership to see if any new updates or known issues have cropped up.

Maintenance Pitfalls to Avoid

Performing routine forklift maintenance isn’t enough—it’s crucial to ensure it’s done properly.

Here are a few common mistakes when it comes to forklift maintenance and how to avoid them.

1. Skipping routine checks

You may think you’re saving time in the short term by forgoing routine maintenance checks, but in the long run, it can cost you time and money when your equipment is not out in the field where it’s supposed to be.

• Ignoring small warning signs

In many cases, machinery will exhibit signs that a larger problem could arise down the road. Heed alerts and maintenance reminders and address when needed.

• Poor record keeping

If forklift maintenance has been done, but no one remembers what was done—or when it was done—that won’t do your operation any good. Be sure to thoroughly document maintenance and keep track of what’s coming up.

• Untrained staff

Be sure that all maintenance staff has been trained on preventive maintenance checklists. Also encourage operators to come forward and note potential problems.

• Forgoing a formalized system

You may be all on board with preventive maintenance, but failing to put a system into place is a recipe for failure.

• Avoiding spending money

Preventive maintenance can cost money, but it’s a relatively small amount compared to the price of unexpected equipment repairs.

Similarly, don’t take the cheap way out when it comes to replacements. Be sure to use quality parts and trusted mechanics to complete maintenance tasks.

Creating a Forklift Maintenance Plan That Works

For the reasons listed above, many small businesses find it difficult to track and adhere to preventive maintenance, despite knowing it’s a good idea. To avoid mistakes like these, make it a priority to create a forklift preventive maintenance plan.

Here are a few tips to keep you on track:

• Create maintenance checklists and make sure maintenance staff members are trained on how to perform each item.
• Create a log of maintenance history for each machine.
• Set an upcoming maintenance schedule with the help of an automated system.
• Assign maintenance task responsibilities to various team members and ensure everyone is on the same page.
• Set up maintenance reminders using an automated system.
• Enlist the help of a more experienced repair mechanic when you need to check the forklift functions that may be included on an augmented checklist.

Using Technology to Stay Ahead

As the owner of a company, you likely wear many hats and deal with a revolving door of competing issues on a daily basis. So, it’s easy for something like preventive maintenance to fall off the to-do list. However, it doesn’t have to.

That’s where technology can help.

Automated systems can bring the following benefits to your company:

• Monitor engine, transmission, hydraulic, and electronic systems to promote maximum uptime.
• Send alerts in real time to address potential problems.
• Track the location of your fleet and a machine’s activity.
• Provide insight into your fleet’s stats, including equipment utilization, availability, charging, or maintenance.

Not only do automated systems remind you of when maintenance is due, but they can also analyze trends to predict what types of maintenance be required in the future.

The automated systems performs all of these tasks effortlessly and automatically, saving you the trouble of remembering what needs to get done.

Final Thoughts: Invest Now, Save Later

Final Thoughts: Invest Now, Save Later

In today’s fast-paced industrial environment, every minute of uptime counts, and it’s important that you do what you can to keep your operators safe and your customers happy.

As such, preventive forklift maintenance is no longer a “nice to have”—it’s a critical part of running a streamlined, cost-effective operation. Having the right plan in place, supported by trained staff and proper documentation, you can keep your fleet running efficiently and avoid costly surprises down the road.

If you have any questions on proactive forklift maintenance, we’re here to help. For more information on creating a preventive maintenance plan that works, reach out to your Black Equipment branch or use our Request Service form and we’ll contact you as soon as possible.