Keeping employees productive requires a business owner to invest in quality tools. If you run a business in a warehouse setting, there are specific things you need to make things run smoothly. When trying to move around pallets of materials, you will need a reliable forklift. 

Over 250,000 forklifts are sold in the United States every year. If you have one or more forklifts at your place of business, then your main goal should be to keep them functional. A damaged forklift can slow productivity and can cost a lot of money to fix. 

Are you looking for ways to prevent forklift damage? If so, here are some things to keep in mind. 

Keep Your Aisles Open

The warehouse layout you use can dictate how common forklift accidents are. A poorly designed warehouse can be dangerous for forklift drivers. Rather than allowing design mistakes to get in the way of progress, you need to alter a few things to keep your forklifts damage free. If forklift drivers are complaining about having to dodge obstacles throughout your warehouse, then it is time to take action. 

Making sure all of the aisles where forklifts are driven remain clean and clutter-free is a great way to lower the risk of accidents. The last thing you want is for your forklifts to collide with items in the aisles of your warehouse. Taking the time to routinely inspect the aisles in your warehouse will help you discover problems early on and fix them before any damage is done. 

Forklifts Operators Have To Be Licensed

Abiding by the guidelines created by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is important if you want to keep your warehouse safe. One of the main things OSHA requires as it relates to forklifts is that all drivers must be licensed. Retaining this license will require a person to undergo extensive training on how to operate a forklift safely. 

This license will have to be renewed once every three years. Allowing people to operate forklifts that aren’t licensed is a recipe for disaster. An unlicensed driver is far more likely to crash the forklift and damage it. You can avoid these problems by providing employees with opportunities to become forklift certified. The money invested in providing these classes will definitely be worth it. 

Fix Warehouse Lighting Issues

Addressing safety issues in your warehouse is crucial when trying to avoid forklift damage. One of the most important things you need to check in your warehouse is the condition of the lighting. If the lights in your warehouse aren’t providing much illumination, you have to make changes. A dimly lit warehouse will be prone to forklift accidents. 

This is why you need to consider using high-powered LED lights in your warehouse. These lights will put out lots of illumination and won’t use much energy. This is good news for business owners attempting to lower monthly operating costs. 

By addressing the problems covered here, you can avoid damage to your forklifts.