I am new to the forklift business and would like to know some of the pros and cons of having an in-house tech or outsourcing to a service company to do regular maint. and anything that will break. All input will be greatly appreciated.
Showing items 21 - 40 of 40 results.
Justin dude I didnt think youd ever go it alone with no factory support in this day and age.I wish you luck my man.I have thought of the same thing but this job the requirments change to fast.You still got my e mail I ll help you if I can as you have helped me.Keep on Keeping on
ok i wish you guys read what i typed in its entirety (hopefully thats just for message boards and not service manuals lol jk)
1 i said he gets help when its needed
2 i said the jack sitdown split is 50/50
also most of his trucks are under 5 years old so theyre in relatively good shape
also im in NY not arizona
i went to training at nueman hobbs (i thinksthats how its spelled) in phoenix
the difference is like night and day when talking about the pressure work loads etc (based on my convos with those good folks) between the two
i still really take offense to the "sales" comment since that statement implies untruth or lack of trustworthiness on my part
i hate sleazy sales people and hope never to be put on the same level as them
and i still cant understand why you would think i would lie about that
fyi: i am no longer a dealer tech
i quit 3 weeks ago and started my own shop (van lol)
doin real good so far and i hope some of you guys can help me out with info when i need it (prosh lol)
Let's say your fleet is only 25 machine but, it happens to be a foundry type application, is one tech enough? Maybe. All the talk back and forth within this forum is a very positive thing to happen, i'm all for it but, anyone that's been in our business any length of time should know what's reality and productive. If everyone would read between the lines you can narrow it down to just a few factors.
1. type of equipment (IC, type of fuel, elec)
2. how much equipment location has to maintain
3. application (match equipment to applications)
4. in-house support (tech experiance)(safety)
5. external support (dealer)
6. pm frequency
All factors listed above will determine how many tech's, in-house & local suppot is needed to safely maintain your fleet. If you have the experiance, if you keep current with mobile equipment products, have good local dealer support as well as, in-house support such as, pro-active management and safety departmen will increase your ability to maintain your fleet. Maybe even a fleet as large as 200-250 machines. Personally I think it's impossible unless your fleet happens to be only pallet jacks.
I aggree with the statement you need 50-60 trucks to keep a tech busy. Any less would be a waste of money on your part. The post that stated 1 tech handles 250 - 300 trucks, I dont believe. NO tech can handle 250 - 300 trucks - correctly. Which means PM's on time, repairs done correctly the first time, battery & charger maintenance. The only way a tech could handle a count like that would be to have a service company in constantly helping which defeates the purpose.
Theother thing to concider- the age of the fleet. If your talking a new fleet, theres not much for an in house tech to do. You will have your usual warranty fixes and some damage, but not untill the hours start adding up and the PM's start. You also may want to look into a full maintence package where you pay one fee, which takes care of the truck, PM's, and repairs. Again depending on the amount of trucks you are concidering.
Well Im glad he had mostly elec trucks.And the rider pj do help a lot,As in not as much to break.But still man 250 to 300 pcs of equip to take care of W>O>W Id have gotten a new job.If a place with 50 or more trucks had a way of keeping up with industry change the way big truck shops do.Id say cost reduction would be a benifit.But the way things are going now they will soon be spending more time finding information if they can than fixing trucks.
lol what do you think youre paying the dealer 120$ an hour for?
all that plus their profit margin
with a large fleet of trucks you save big money in the long run by keeping the labor in-house
plus you control the parts inventory and can probably work out volume discount deals with the dealers on the parts, saving more money than the markup of the same parts installed by dealer techs
o and dont forget the travel fee
shop supplies
disposal fees
all marked up to turn a profit
if you have 1 or 2 machines even 10 its not worth doing the work yourself
but at 100 units youre looking at big savings
Keep in mind, with an in house tech, you have to consider more than his salary & training. You have to look at benifits, insurance, uniforms, vacation & sick time. Also continued training, with technology changing all the time.
I agree with justinm,
We had a tech that had 250-300 units and could handle the work load. He was and older guy that loved to get in there and get it done. Loved a challenge.
Keep in mind ,they all don't break at the same time and if you have regular P.M schedule it helps.
There are day's when i have to pick up the phone to make sure it is still working, it's so slow.........the next day............30- 50 calls. The joy of the lift truck industry
the guy actually retired like 2 months ago, they replaced him with 2 techs and theyre downsizing now
i dont understand how a sales person would like a story where the service company isnt getting any of those labor hours (except warranty) and im not the biggest fan of sales people
i never said that i thought that he didnt need help
but
their safety record was actually very good as far as the machines go (union shop)
he usually had about 10 machines in the shop at a time
the supervisors and operators took the machines out of service at the first hint of any trouble (mostly cause they would get a lil break to take the machine to the forklift shop or going to get the mechanic and a replacement unit)
i also said "he gets help when he needs it" from the delivery truck shop (more inhouse techs) next door to his shop
its was about a 50/50 split of sitdown electrics and rider jacks of all brands (a lot of toyota and linde) the only gas unit was a large pneumatic
I agree with u crowd and if it is true if i was the tech i would be looking for a new job lol. 300 trucks he would struggle just doing the servicing properly never mind breakdowns.I maybey be speaking out of turn but i would say about 50 trucks max would be more than enough for 1 tech there is some places with 30 trucks and has site engineer
Anyone that believes this story must be in sales! If ithe story is true, this companys potential for serious injury or a fatality is great. No one person can care for a fleet that size properly so, safety here should be a real concern!
Man if I had to keep 300 pcs of anything going I start hidding the stuff so they only had 100 to 150 and thats still a nightmare.Oil ,lube,clean,adjust,instect next That would take 95% of you time in a 30 day operation IE 300hrs every 30 days. I thought I worked hard but my hats off to that guy.I now know Im the lazy guy I gripe about.
any large factory or works could have 300 pieces of kit. but how many are little trailers and pallet trucks. he could have a good cover stock. if that guy is servicing and maintaining 250-300 prime movers i take my hat off to him. must be expensive buying overalls and boots for all the extra arms and legs he must have. lol
250 up to 300 depending on what year were talking about
and yes hes a ** maniac lol
but he was ontop of his fleet so he was able to recognize issues early correct and keep downtime at a minimal
Is the tech to machine ratio 250:1 0r 300:1? Talk about super tech! The only way one tech can maitain a fleet of 250~300 forklifts is to have a 2 year lease program with a full maint program & low usage. Look this dicussion topic is important, constructive imput should be as equally important.
i have 1 company where its exactly that
we sell him parts and do warranty work and thats it
1 mechanic covers about 250 - 300 machines
he gets help when he needs it but has it under control 95% of the time
he keeps a very impressive inventory at quite an expense im sure
his shop is in a separate building away from the main production facilities
I've been (and am) on both sides of the in house/service co issue. The folks who've already posted are correct. There are concerns with training and insurance and also access to the lift companies software.
I've worked for dealers and been sent to work at a customer location who has in-house guys who do not know what they are doing, loved that billing... The few calls you get to the folks who have trained their techs were normally nightmares. They've tried it as per the manual and their experience, and now it's "your the dealer - good luck". Their techs are normally well trained and it's a pleasure to work along side them (most of the time they are dealer techs who now work for the copmpany not the dealer)
I've also set up maintenance groups at large companies. If you can not get adequate staffing or training you may as well outsource the lifts. If you can, then remember that you need at least one tech for every 50 - 60 pieces of equipment per shift i.e. 24 hrs a day with 20 lifts = 1 tech, 40 lifts = 120 shifts = 2 techs etc, as well as a good source of parts and the desire to maintain that inventory. With proper training and support the only time you see the dealer is for warranty work or delivering parts.
I believe that the costs break at the 50 ish trucks/shift mark. Over 50 it was cheaper to do it your self, under it may be cheaper to call the dealer. Good Luck
i think the business insurance should cover it but you probably have to get it re-rated with the added activities
cause now youre not covered under the forklift co's liability to persons and property for the work done
I have to agree with justin. From what I have seen in the past, most in-house guys were part of the regular "Maintenence" crew and only messed with fofklifts cause they had to. Most do not have the technical knowledge and training to do a good job that a Tech would have.
Unless a company is willing to commit to training a guy, it's best left to the Forklift guys.
Forklifts have changed a bunch in the last several years, unless you have some technical training or access to literature, you will not do well.
The liability issue alone is scarey, working on a car or truck is one thing, but forklifts fall into the "Industrial" arena, which changes the whole picture.
for inhouse techs you would want to own more than 10 machines to keep the guy busy and justify his salary
but
dont ask your facilities maint guy to fix the forklift he'll waste time and material working on something he knows nothing about
then youll have to call a guy like me in to fix the mess at an even higher loss than just calling me in the 1st place
also try to stick with 1 brand and get factory training for the mechanic that way he has access to all the diagnostic tools he needs
sum up
if its done right it can save a lot of money
if its not, bye bye profit margin lol
Forkliftaction accepts no responsibility for forum content and requires forum participants to adhere to our rules of conduct. Click here for more information.
If you are having trouble using the Discussion Forums, please contact us for help.