The breakdown of a car lift in an automotive manufacturing facility could result in major delays and disruptions to the enterprise's production processes. As such, it's important for those who run facilities of this kind to be aware of the mistakes that can lead to this equipment malfunctioning and to do their best to avoid making these errors. Here are two such errors.
Exposing the lift to too much moisture
The condition of a car lift will deteriorate rapidly if it is regularly exposed to moisture. There are a couple of reasons for this.
Firstly, car lifts have many metal components, some of which may begin to corrode if they are routinely saturated with water. If this corrosion spreads to several important metal parts, the lift may stop working.
Secondly, water may inflict serious, irreparable damage on a car lift's electrical wiring and it's electrical motor. Even a few droplets could be enough to cause the equipment's electrical components to short circuit, which could, in turn, lead to the lift breaking down.
As such, it is extremely important for any employees who are tasked with operating or maintaining the lift to avoiding getting the equipment wet.
For example, when cleaning the lift, employees should use dry cloths to dust, rather than wet ones. Additionally, where possible, they should spot clean stains on the floor with a small, slightly damp cloth, instead of using a saturated mop to wipe them up (as a drenched mop which is swiped across the floor of the lift could result in water dripping onto the equipment's electrical cables or motor).
Furthermore, large doormats should be placed outside the lift's doors, so that if employees who need to use the lift have water on the soles of their shoes, they can dry them off before getting into the lift.
Not having it serviced regularly
Many automotive manufacturers make the mistake of failing to have their car lifts serviced on a regular basis. This is a serious error which can lead to their lifts developing major defects which end up rendering them unusable.
For example, if a car lift's hydraulic fluid is not replaced at least once a year, the lift's hydraulic system may stop working (this fluid does not evaporate but does become contaminated and degrade over time, and as such, needs to be refreshed on a semi-regular basis).
If this hydraulic system suddenly breaks down whilst the lift is being used to transport a car from one section of the facility to another, the vehicle could end up trapped inside the lift for at least a few hours (or even days, depending on how long it takes to find an engineer to fix it).
As such, manufacturers who have car lifts in their facilities should arrange to have their equipment periodically serviced. The servicing process will not only minimise the risk of the lift developing faults but will also ensure that any existing problems are identified and rectified before they lead to the equipment breaking down.
