Focus on Forklift Lifting Attachments

Forklifts were designed for lifting, but forklift forks are not designed for all lifting purposes. That’s where forklift lifting attachments come into the picture. These forklift attachments greatly expand a forklift’s capabilities and are some of the best investments you can make.

There’s possibly nothing more foolish than trying to lift a heavy drum filled with a liquid on forklift forks alone. Foolish and dangerous as this practice is, it is done every day. Sometimes an upright drum is balanced precariously on the forklift forks and sometimes it is tipped over and cradled between the forks. The danger involved in lifting drums this way aside, it is a practice that requires extra time and labor, both of which cost money.

Inexpensive drum grippers

A forklift drum attachment costs money, too, but if you need to lift drums infrequently, drum grippers cost less than $250 and the forklift driver can pick up drums from his seat. It takes only a few seconds as compared to the 10 or 15 minutes combined time it takes 2 or more workers to load and offload a drum from forks manually. Multiply that by the number of times you have to lift drums over the course of a few years and you can see that a forklift drum attachment can actually save you money in the longer run.

As we mentioned in an earlier blog, using freerigging instead of forklift attachments is a bad idea. That doesn’t stop it from frequently occurring, though. It usually starts innocently enough. You need to lift a heavy object, so you rig something together on your forklift forks using chains, slings or whatever else is at hand. After 2 or 3 of your work crew spend 15 or 20 minutes making sure everything is secure, the forklift operator gingerly lifts the item. If everything holds together, he then slowly carries the item to its destination and the crew spends more time undoing the rigging and putting it away.

Forklift boom attachment

Once again, this is not only a dangerous way to lift materials, it is a time consuming and expensive way to work. Smart forklift owners who have invested in forklift booms have found that once they have one, they find dozens of uses for it. The cost of the boom is forgotten, but its usefulness is never forgotten. Check out the full range of forklift booms on forkliftaccessories.com and find the right one for you. You’ll be surprised by how economically priced they are.

Forklift work platform

Arguably, using forklifts for lifting people is the most foolish and dangerous practice there is, but for a variety of reasons, it is another common practice. Like most other unsafe work practices, it starts as a “one time only” event and then becomes a regular occurrence until an accident occurs. It’s only then that the forklift owner kicks himself for not buying an inexpensive forklift platform and keeping it on hand for everything from stock picking to changing lightbulbs. There are dozens of ways forklift work platforms can be used in any materials handling environment. Like drum handlers and boom attachments, their cost is negligible when weighed against their usefulness.

If you have forklifts, you need forklift lifting attachments. Don’t wait until an accident occurs or you’ve wasted hundreds of man hours jury rigging unsafe lifting attachments together. Get what you need today and start saving now.

You’ll find all the forklift lifting attachments you need on our main website. If you’re not accustomed to ordering online or want to know more about our services, check out Forklift Accessories FAQs.