There is so much confusion out there in the Materials Handling industry, about whether it is allowed to have side shift in combination with rotating attachments. We aim to provide a little bit of information that might help to explain the issue.
Does Sideshift work with a rotator
While the combination of SS and rotating attachments is generally possible and legal (under current Australian Standards), we usually do not recommend it, but please talk to your forklift delaer about the correct ratings for forklift.
With this combination there are increased possibilities for the driver to use the truck outside its safe parameters.
For example
Rotating of a load with a high vertical centre of gravity or rotating with the load to far off centre (side shifted) can negatively affect the stability of the truck to a point where it could tip over. while most manufactures rating does allow them to perform capacity calculations for this combination, the capacity rating provided is only valid within certain limits for the lateral load centre.
Sample section of a capacity calculation result:
To be on the safe side, the side shift should always be centred before any load is rotated.
The safe operation of this attachment combination depends on many factors like nature of load, size, shape and center of gravity of load, lift height, surface on which the truck is operated …
Every application is different and needs to be analysed before a recommendation can be given. If you are in doubt or if you have safety concerns, please speak to your local forklift dealer before going down this track.
Just remember, its not the forklift suppliers responsibility to make sure that the truck and its attachments are operated in a safe way, but its the user’s.
Make sure you do your due diligence to make sure you know what the risks are if you plan of combining these attachments onto your forklift.
I hope this explains the situation and answers the questions about the legal and safe use of side shift and rotating attachments.