It is important to carry out daily or pre-shift inspections.

Prevention is the best medicine

Forklift and warehouse trucks are a significant capital investment, even when deployed on full rental or contract hire terms. As economies all over Europe show signs of recovery, it makes sense to keep a close eye on the bottom line to sustain this fragile growth.

An incredible number of measures can be taken to improve the efficiency of a lift truck fleet. The ultimate goals are often maximum uptime and reduced costs - hence the constant juggling between these contradictions.

Source: http://eurekapub.eu/fleet-management/2015/09/24/forklift-maintenance-minimise-cost-maximise-uptime

Workplace conditions

Poor floor condition is one of the largest causes of avoidable damage expense

Naturally the warehouse or the premises where the trucks operate needs to be tidy and in good order. For example, poor floor condition is one of the largest causes of avoidable damage expense. Driving over debris such as wood, plastic wrap, twine and banding can cause radiator or axle damage, and if blown into the engine compartment it can destroy the cooling system and potentially cause engine failure or a fire.

Driver training

Next, drivers need to receive training. It is important to teach them that speed is not equal to productivity. Drivers must be trained in pre-operational inspection, load-handling techniques, fuelling, battery charging and much more. And it should certainly not stop at initial training, as from time to time truck drivers need follow-up training to refresh their minds. By doing so, truck abuse can be minimised.

Regular inspections

All vehicles age, and it is no different for lift trucks. To help avoid costly repairs and damaged loads, it is important to carry out daily or pre-shift inspections. The areas which require most attention are the forks, mast, chains and tilt cylinders. Most suppliers can provide comprehensive checklists.

Battery management

Well-maintained batteries last longer.

Today the mix of forklifts in a fleet tends to be predominantly battery powered. If the fleet is large enough, a separate battery charging room is needed. With the right equipment, proper management of batteries in these 'nursery' rooms can greatly extend battery life.
What do the professionals bring to the game?

The list above summarises what companies can do themselves to keep cost down. However, it is always an uphill battle to beat what the professional forklift supplier can bring to the game.

Preventative maintenance

The warehouse manager can expect a customised plan for on-site, scheduled maintenance services, including fluid level and lubricant checks as well as regular equipment inspections - all at a pre-determined cost. Operations will be evaluated and suppliers will take into consideration how many hours the forklifts run, the type of environments they are running in and a range of other factors.

Total maintenance and repair

Preventative maintenance can be developed further into a more comprehensive maintenance and repair support plan. In most cases this means all designated repairs are covered by one fixed monthly rate, which relieves the fleet managers of the task of chasing data for their monthly reports.

Data capture and analysis

Good data, properly analysed, is a key to efficient fleet usage.

Modern software is often used to see what is going on. This can include data registration of truck movements, registered charging time, uptime, fuelling data and much more. A proper analysis provides the fleet manager with actionable data to improve the usage of the fleet.

A complete process

The ideal solution is probably where preventative maintenance becomes part of a complete process of financing and managing a fleet. The warehouse manager receives monthly reports on maintenance and repair costs, along with recommendations on fleet size and mix, and information on security and damage issues. Training is provided where necessary to improve the behaviour of truck drivers.

In practice, by outsourcing the fleet management the warehouse manager can achieve better control over his costs, whilst freeing up time for his other managerial tasks. In this way, balancing costs and uptime no longer seems incompatible.


Source: By Gian Schiava, 'Forklift maintenance to minimise cost & maximise uptime', first published in eureka.

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