Every Texas fleet is concerned with the productivity and safety of its vehicles as this helps improve its bottom line. This is the reason fleets add liftgates to their trucks and trailers. Hydraulic liftgates come in various styles including traditional, side load, column lift, and top lift. Every liftgate is designed to improve productivity in loading and unloading operations. Industry experts agree the liftgates enable and deliver efficiencies in fleet operations. When specified properly for a given application, they add flexibility to a truck or trailer, letting them load and unload at a dock and at ground level for onsite deliveries at locations without docks. Hydraulic liftgates are available for light, medium, and heavy-duty trucks and trailers.
Importance of Routine Maintenance for Hydraulic Liftgates
Hydraulic liftgates must be routinely maintained to maximize their useful years and ensure safe operation for those who depend on this Texas hydraulic and equipment. Aside from making sure the equipment is operating as intended, maintenance offers technicians the opportunity to confirm that all critical components are lubricated, ensure fluid levels are correct, and address any problems discovered before they become more serious ones.
To maximize the dependability and life of a liftgate, fleets can adopt the OEM guidelines of the equipment that detail the required maintenance and inspection, as well as the frequency of each. They can make a maintenance checklist that should be followed by their maintenance personnel. Also, fleets must record maintenance problems in a way that can be traced to every liftgate. By having a consistent recording method, every fleet maintenance facility can report a problem in the exact same way. As a result, fleets can detect trends for a certain liftgate that may not be getting used correctly by an operator.
Educating Operators on the Proper Use of Liftgates
Every fleet must expose its operators to new liftgates ad have some coaching on how to properly maintain equipment as part of their training. Every liftgate operator must do a quick visual and operational inspection of the equipment every day. Also, they must be encouraged to report malfunctioning equipment. Issues discovered early through routine maintenance and inspection can lead to timely repairs that can minimize further expense and downtime. As operators directly see the equipment, they are usually the first ones to know if something is wrong with it. Thus, they must be encouraged to bring any problems to the attention of maintenance personnel.
