Forklift Attachments: Safety Guide & the Most Popular Attachments

Forklift attachments are what make forklifts so versatile and useful in a wide range of commercial settings, like warehouses, construction sites, large retail stores, etc. Many people believe that forklift attachment can only be used for performing specific tasks and moving unique objects, but in reality, there are many different types of attachments that can suit almost any job and make it safer, faster and less taxing. As long as the forklift operator is properly trained in using the forklift and its attachments, you'll notice an improvement in productivity, safety as well as convenience in the workplace. 

When you imagine a forklift, you're probably imagining one with a forklift lifting hook attachment, also known as tynes attachment. The forklift lifting hook attachment is the most commonly used one, and it's for vertically carrying pallets and loads from one point to another. However, nowadays, you can see a wide range of forklift attachments that are made for performing specific tasks, such as drum lifting attachments, fork positioners, side shifters, etc. and they can all help your workspace by reducing the time it takes to move loads, employee hours, manpower, number of employees, odds of damaging stock and fuel consumption.

But in order to use the forklift and its attachments safely, you need to be aware that adding any type of attachment will change the centre of gravity and the load capacity of the forklift. This is due to the fact that you're putting weight in the front of the fulcrum point of the forklift before picking up the load. Therefore, it's necessary to drive the forklift as if it's partially loaded, even before you pick up the load. When working with any type of forklift attachment, you should travel at low speed and make gentle turns. The fitted attachment should be listed on the data plate, providing you with the truck's capacity.

As aforementioned, proper training before fitting and operating a forklift attachment are paramount for safety, and some of the necessary checks that need to be performed include ensuring the attachment is suitable the forklift you're fitting it for, ensuring the attachment is suitable for managing the type of load you need to be lifted, the attachment is properly attached to the truck with a locking device, and the data plates on the truck allows the use of the attachment. Basically, you need to evaluate what your forklift's capabilities using the attachment are before operating it. However, choosing the right attachment is also important for increasing productivity and reaping all of the benefits of having a forklift. I mentioned some of the most popular forklift attachments above, and now I'll go into more detail about what they do.

Lifting Hooks

The forklift lifting hook attachment is what you're used to seeing on forklifts. However, some people may need a forklift lifting hook with more carrying capacity. The purpose of the hook is to carry pallets that are stacked with inventory easily from one place to another. Lifting hooks can go up and down to certain heights. This allows you to easily take pallets of goods from their storage space and load them onto trucks for transport.

Sideshifters

Another popular forklift attachment, and most modern forklifts come with one. This attachment enables you to shift the tynes of the forklift from side to side so that you can make small adjustments in order to enable alignment with pallets without moving the entire forklift. As a result, you reduce the chances of pallet damage, get faster loading and unloading times, reduce truck wear and fuel consumption.

Fork Positioners

Fork positioners are another very popular attachment, and it allows the tynes to be moved further away from each other or closer to one another hydraulically. As a result, the operator will have a faster, more effective time handling differently sized pallets, as well as odd-shaped objects. This will reduce the manual work having to be performed when moving items, it will reduce the pallet damage that occurs, the fuel used and reduce the forklift wear.

Drum Lifters

Drum lifters are ideal for handling drums and cylinder-type loads safely. These are quite application-specific, but are an invaluable addition to any workspace that deals with drums on a daily basis. There are different drum lifters, some of which can handle only a single drum, while others can handle multiple drums at a time, so you can choose according to how busy your daily operations are. As is the case with most other forklift attachments, drum lifters reduce the amount of manual work that has to be done, the amount of damage that occurs to the drums, etc. 

Carton Clamps

These attachments are specifically designed for handling large square- or rectangular-shaped objects that don't need a pallet. They are typically used by appliance, beverage and electronic applications, but they can also be used to handle fragile goods when combined with automatic pressure sensing systems. Common configurations for carton clamps are vertical and horizontal, depending on the application's requirements.