The Many Uses And Dangers Of The Car Lift
For many car tyre mechanics the car lift is one of the most important pieces of equipment they will use on a day to day basis. They use this machinery to change car tyres and to inspect faults on vehicles that would come into their garage or workshop. There are many different ways you can use the car lift and all of these different methods will require the user to practice the utmost caution when using any type of vehicle lift.
When using car lifts, always make sure that the vehicles engine has been switched off, gear stick in neutral and that the doors of the car are secured shut. Luckily all vehicle lifting equipment should have security blocks as standard to ensure that the subject is in a secure state. Always keep a close eye on any small movements made by the vehicle and check the sturdiness of the security blocks to double make sure that everything is held in a safe manner.
Only after you are entirely satisfied that the vehicle is secure should you proceed in operating the lift. Also, when you do starting lift the vehicle, it?s important that you do so slowly, and that you continue monitoring for any movement. As the lift reaches its working height, speed should be reduced in order to minimize the risk of vehicle movement. Once the vehicle has been raised to the desired height, everything should be locked into place and a further check carried out. Providing everything is locked and secure, you?re ready to proceed with the task at hand.
Safety once the car is lifted
When you get round to changing the car tyres when using a lift, many mechanics get scared due to the notion that the car will fall on top of them when they are doing the change. If you follow all the procedures mentioned above and in the safety manual you should have no problems when doing any repairs.
A regular mistake that in some cases have proven fatal is to not load the lift in the correct manner. This can be down to a number of things such as the load is too heavy for the lift, the load is too large or it could be that the load is not an even weight. Always check with the manufacturers guideline manual that should come with the vehicle lift, this should contain information such as maximum load weight & size restrictions for the lift. One more aspect to be aware of is not to raise the load above the manufacturers recommended level.
Other methods in increasing the safety of these machines is to consistently clean and maintain the parts. This will greatly reduce the risk of having any accidents. Remember, safety is the most important factor when dealing with lifting a vehicle, the smallest mistake can be deadly and from my own personal experience in 1982 I actually witnessed a good colleague get crushed due to lapses of concentration in the safety process.
Even though accidents continue to happen for a variety of reasons, the auto-repair industry would simply not be able to function without car-lifts. In my opinion, the best advice anyone could give you with regards to purchasing a car-lift, is that you ascertain that the lift you choose is suitable for the work you intend doing, and that it?s rated to lift the sort of weights you intend lifting. Whatever you do, please do not base your decision on price; but instead, base your decision on your own requirements and of course, your safety and the safety of anyone else who?ll be working with it.
If you are a domestic mechanic who repairs and maintains his car in their own spare time then you should think of getting a lift for your garage. These are always great investments as it will present you with more ability to do your own repair work compared to taking them to the garage workshop and paying a mechanic to get your vehicle repaired, this will always save you a lot of time and money.
For professional use I would recommended going after more robust auto lifts. This is due to the amount of use you will be getting out of them from your clients and customers. It must be mentioned that these more robust lifts do demand a fair bit more maintenance than their home lift counterpart. If you are in a position to buy a car lift for your business then make sure you have the resources available for a professional mechanic to clean and maintain it. - 21392
When using car lifts, always make sure that the vehicles engine has been switched off, gear stick in neutral and that the doors of the car are secured shut. Luckily all vehicle lifting equipment should have security blocks as standard to ensure that the subject is in a secure state. Always keep a close eye on any small movements made by the vehicle and check the sturdiness of the security blocks to double make sure that everything is held in a safe manner.
Only after you are entirely satisfied that the vehicle is secure should you proceed in operating the lift. Also, when you do starting lift the vehicle, it?s important that you do so slowly, and that you continue monitoring for any movement. As the lift reaches its working height, speed should be reduced in order to minimize the risk of vehicle movement. Once the vehicle has been raised to the desired height, everything should be locked into place and a further check carried out. Providing everything is locked and secure, you?re ready to proceed with the task at hand.
Safety once the car is lifted
When you get round to changing the car tyres when using a lift, many mechanics get scared due to the notion that the car will fall on top of them when they are doing the change. If you follow all the procedures mentioned above and in the safety manual you should have no problems when doing any repairs.
A regular mistake that in some cases have proven fatal is to not load the lift in the correct manner. This can be down to a number of things such as the load is too heavy for the lift, the load is too large or it could be that the load is not an even weight. Always check with the manufacturers guideline manual that should come with the vehicle lift, this should contain information such as maximum load weight & size restrictions for the lift. One more aspect to be aware of is not to raise the load above the manufacturers recommended level.
Other methods in increasing the safety of these machines is to consistently clean and maintain the parts. This will greatly reduce the risk of having any accidents. Remember, safety is the most important factor when dealing with lifting a vehicle, the smallest mistake can be deadly and from my own personal experience in 1982 I actually witnessed a good colleague get crushed due to lapses of concentration in the safety process.
Even though accidents continue to happen for a variety of reasons, the auto-repair industry would simply not be able to function without car-lifts. In my opinion, the best advice anyone could give you with regards to purchasing a car-lift, is that you ascertain that the lift you choose is suitable for the work you intend doing, and that it?s rated to lift the sort of weights you intend lifting. Whatever you do, please do not base your decision on price; but instead, base your decision on your own requirements and of course, your safety and the safety of anyone else who?ll be working with it.
If you are a domestic mechanic who repairs and maintains his car in their own spare time then you should think of getting a lift for your garage. These are always great investments as it will present you with more ability to do your own repair work compared to taking them to the garage workshop and paying a mechanic to get your vehicle repaired, this will always save you a lot of time and money.
For professional use I would recommended going after more robust auto lifts. This is due to the amount of use you will be getting out of them from your clients and customers. It must be mentioned that these more robust lifts do demand a fair bit more maintenance than their home lift counterpart. If you are in a position to buy a car lift for your business then make sure you have the resources available for a professional mechanic to clean and maintain it. - 21392
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