With the forklift industry on its ****,and the amount of engineers that are going to be knocking around,I can't see any money in the job in the future.
We are mostly underpaid highly skilled people but the industry seems to be falling behind other industries with pay and conditions,My feelings are that good engineers will move out of this game and look for new carears,this is what i am thinking of doing and brushing up on my skills with a couple of colleage courses ready to hopefully make my move.
Where do you lot think the forklift industry will be going after things pick up again?
Cheers
Herald.
Showing items 1 - 20 of 24 results.
well said regards ps u guys stole our summer lol
Herald i totally agree with u but like most of us once you have been in one job for a while you get stuck in a rut complacent and not keen in moving on and re adapting to another job but i do think its time to try something else its the only way u will ever get a better pay.
Its crazy why forklift engineers are low payed considering they are out on the road unsuprvised dealing with customers direct sorting out there problems compared to a mechanic in a workshop that gets given 1 job at a time from his supervisor but i guess thats just the way things is
I'm just going to butt in this conversation a second...... I graduated from a trade school 3 years ago for alternative fuels/automotive. I've earned my degrees from the Alternative Fuels Consortium of America, and I'm 2 tests short of an ASE Master Tech Cert.....and I went straight from college to the Material Handling Industry. I took the advice from an older friend whos been an automotive tech for almost 45 years, and was top of his game, with all the possible training and certifications. Automotive is way too unstable to earn a decent, regular living.
I understand that the Forklift world isn't what people say it was in the "good ole days", but I wasn't in this industry then, and even with what it is today, I wouldn't go back to automotive if I could help it. It may feel like its crumbling underneath your feet, but as long as I'm still showing up on monday morning to do my first PM's of the month, I'd never look at another car again.
--Just an opinion from some punk kid ruining the world-- lol.
JDBurton,
Your are correct vehicles (cars & forklifts) getting more complicated and training, training & proper diagnostic equipment investment is required meaning big investment dollars are required.
Over the years, service techs in the automobile industry have advised me of the following key pros & cons -
1. Pro - nice clean and air conditioned service shop w/all the equipment they need (except their hand tools). Their customers come to them - no driving around in a van, etc. I once heard a dealer proclaim, in the early 2000's, in Dallas, Texas his shop was the only A/C cooled shop in town (in central Texas summer starts in April then it gets real hot until Sept when summer returns).
2.) Pro - vehicles are generally very clean to work on vs. those that come out of a meat packing plant, concrete operation, fish cannery, etc
3.) Con - the service techs are paid strictly by the flat rate manual. You have to "bust your buns" to make a decent living and. No work orders - no pay.
4.) Con - always under pressure to turn complete the work order - like at a good busy resteraunt - they want to turn the table as fast as possible.
As often said, "The grass always seems greener on the other side." Until you get here. There is no Utopia - not even for the dude driving around in his new BMW and taking extended golfing vacations. He or they have a lot of risk (they are on the hook to some finance company some where for sure) and like their homes, pictures on the wall, etc.
I'd say many in the US will go to automotive. With the hybrid cards and fuel cells coming out mnay of the forklift tech's are finding their skills are paid better in the auto industry although american auto is falling flat, japanese auto in the us is doing ok. Also many are moving to companies such as ours which focus on highly specialized equipment. We are seeing a lot of "traditional" forklift techs coming in wanting to elarn our systems.
snapman frd built a chimney that would pull ur socks off while still wearing shoes that one was for is mother lol lol lol true story
riplexharvey yep 2 years ago just bought landrover it must be an english thing u know what sounds good lex harvey canada lol lol
herald times slow here to if you know your stuff yur the man
Yes towmotor that's Fred a true genius in the world of engineering. Fred could turn he's hand to anything and would have made a good forklift engineer mind you he would have had something to say about the poor wages and the way the engineers are treated.
Trade Show Dave,
Let's see California got a little bit cleaner by 35 pneumatic tire forklifts but the other state got a little bit smoggyier and sootier with less efficent, less ergonomic and cost more expensive lifts by 35. How does that help the whole game plan to get it all "greener"? Or is it just CYOA?
Kinda' like letting or forcing (carbon taxes) all dirty manufacturing in the US go to other countries with less concern about the "green" thing as we clean up our 50 states.
This is sent in jest. I do understand what the CARB in Sacremento did to all y'all in California.
I am a customer/user.
As for the direction in the future, the approach my company is taking (a large corporation) is to hire consultants (lean six sigma) to analyse and improve productivity....Again!
So we can deliver dividends to our stockholders. So they can drive flash cars.
It would seem new equipment is more efficient, ergonomic and cost effective..and don't forget green, we had to update our local fleet of 35 pnumatics because our '02 models didn't have the catalytic converters. We transferred the '02s to another state.
Hi towmotor
Yes thats Fred on snapman avatar,used to see him driving around the area quite often before his untimely death a few years ago.
What is the forklift market like with you is their much opportunity for UK engineers to relocate?
cheers herald.
snapman is that fred dibnah maybe incorrect spelling
im going to add my two pennies worth team up with a friend start your company work hard and you will get the fancy car that you envy also remember when we die we are all equal longtime dead so iam told they also said i would not last 6 weeks just passed 20 years not bad for a one man show bet the customer remembers me when im dead and gone flip the next page find another tech ps fancy car for sale cheap lol lol
Just to put my two pence worth in I was chatting to a mate of mine the other day and he told me that the company that he works for are short of cash at the moment. But in the next breath he told me that all the salesman and the senior management and there wives are going to Venice for a long weekend on the company all paid for. May I add that some salesmen have not sold a truck in two years and when he has turned up on site with the salesmen there have completely ignored him as they think the engineers in the company are just the dirt on the sole of there boots. If you had a engineer who had not repaired a forklift in two years he would have been given the sack but not so with the salesmen. Salesmen are just parasites they get there commission and leave the engineer to pick up the pieces.
As you say with the pda and all the KPIs to hit and all that goes with the job, its not what it used to be and the senior management wonder why they can not get skilled technicians for what they are paying. Its no wonder that kids don't what to come in to this profession when they leave school as they can stay clean and earn more in front of a PC. And they wonder why good technicians are so hard to come bye. I am always on the lookout for a job out of this game. Mind you no one wants an ex forklift engineer.
it's the companies that get the service right that will be here at the end of this and go on to become the new
force's in the industry. companies most understand that service and the service engineer are the companies best asset. You could have the best truck in the world but if you don't have a good service back up your dead in the water
Hi as you proberbly know we are comming to the market over the next couple of years. We have a training program for trainees but we will need fully trained people. We understand that respect is important to you and so is money. Yes we will have a nice car but we allso uderstand that you need a good living.so it might be worth your while sticking about because no mater how good the deal we offer to the customer it's only as good as the engineer who services it
RipLexHarvey, just go ahead and leave this industry now. (and I will NOT say anything about "don't let the dorr hit your last part out...", not me, I won't say it) You remind me of the folks that wait until they have "enough money" to have kids.
We all work for respect, and $ is just one (important) way to show respect. If you don't get the respect you truly deserve, then by all means, do what it takes to find the respect you deserve.
"when things get better"? How will you know they are better?
I always hope the owners and "bigwigs" all get to drive nice cars and boats, and live in nice houses, That way they are SOOOO much more likely to stay out of my hair and less likely try to "second guess with 20-20 hindsight" everything I do.
Thank goodness we all made it to the weekend, and can still find a cold beer!!
[there is no such thing as "enough money", just as there is no such thing as "enough time" since; "time=money"]
Hi all
I agree lots of flash cars are driven by the guys in charge but i don't think this is the problem,The problem is every supplier undercuts their competitors and send trucks out at any cost just to get the contract,this creates a loss on a lot of these contracts so no or little money is left at the end,The money that is made never filters down into engineer wages,i know of trucks on large sites that are being charged out at £12 per week, if you get one breakdown a months rental will be wiped out.
john j i agree with you about being a shortage of engineers before the recession but this never created a rise in wages to attract engineers from other industries,most suppliers in the UK pay about the same basic salary to engineers its like no one will or can pay more to attract the right people.
I don't think this will change when the market is flooded with engineers.
Lexharvey rip I think i am with you on this like most of us on this forum we enjoy doing the job but can't do the money and s**t that goes with it.
At least its weekend again and i have got beer in hand lol
herald.
Herald and others,
It seems when business is good (not meaning great) there has been a shortage of good, reliable technicans. Kinda like finding good, used pneumatic tire forklifts (in the US) when used trucks are selling good. It has been this way for both during my 40+ years.
It seems the issues everyone is talking about are not just asscociated with the lift truck industry but other. As an example, I became clsoe friends with a customer of mine who was operations manager for a multi location over-the-road tractor dealer (a well known & respected brand in the US.) It was insteresting to learn from him how similar hourly pay for technicans, GP targets for service, parts, equipment (new & used) sales. And how hard it was to find good, qualified technicans in the Atlanta,GA area. Benefits were above average, too! They had plenty of work being open 7 days 24 hour - 365 days.
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