Forklifts have undergone earth-shaking changes over the years, but the foundation of good fleet management has not changed as much as the forklift itself. These principles still focus on operation and maintenance practices, which can help you avoid trouble, downtime and increasing maintenance costs.
What is the average life expectancy of the forklift?
On average, the service life of the forklift is about 10000 hours. It operates eight-hour shifts, averaging about 2000 hours or about five years per year.
What is considered to be the high working hours of forklift trucks?
A properly maintained forklift can be used for a longer time, even more than 20000 hours.
In order to reduce forklift downtime to a greater extent, we talked with several forklift dealers with decades of experience in forklift and fleet management. The following are eight practical ways to reduce forklift downtime:
(01) Record retention
The best way to understand the operation of your forklift is to record each forklift. Each forklift is different, so an accurate performance profile will accurately indicate the exact time when the forklift is scrapped.
A separate record is usually kept for each forklift. In your records, keep the important statistical data of the forklift: purchase or lease price, acquisition date, brand, model and serial number. Add the dates of all scheduled maintenance (PM) inspections and the contents (if any) that need to be repaired by maintenance technicians to this information. Usually you will receive a report form after each PM. Keep these tables in the forklift's archives for reference and tracking of maintenance trends and/or operator damage/abuse.
You also need to track the working time of the engine in order to know how many forklifts are actually used. This requires a time meter on each forklift to work.
(02) Individual application
According to statistics, more than 1 million forklifts are working in the United States every day. But perhaps half of it is to squeeze too much money from its owners by working beyond its service life.
To ensure that your fleet will not waste its budget, you need to know how much it costs to own and maintain each forklift. To determine this, you need to record the information and some calculations.
The cost of ownership of each forklift is the difference between its delivery cost and its residual value at the time of discount. For example, the cost of a forklift is $15000, the age of the forklift is 4 years, and the cumulative service time is 8500 hours. Its transaction value is now $6000. Subtract this from $15000 to get $9000, which is the cost of ownership; Then divide by the engine hours. You find that the cost of this forklift is $1.06 per working hour.
The accumulated maintenance cost is the sum of maintenance labor and material costs since the date of purchase. Assume that in our example, the total maintenance is $8800. Divide this amount by the number of engine hours again to get $1.04, which is the maintenance cost per hour.
Therefore, the operation and maintenance cost of this forklift is US $2.10 per hour.
(03) Replace the forklift in time
How long should the forklift be used?
There is no exact answer to how long the forklift should be used, but many people have adopted a less ideal method when replacing the forklift.
Some companies without recorded information only change forklifts at a specific age, usually three to seven years, depending on their application. The problem with this set of policies is that only the accurate performance profile recorded can determine the exact time of scrapping of forklift trucks.
Using the set time period allows you to replace some equipment before the total cost is lower, and replace other equipment after the lower total cost has passed.
(04) Forklift matching with application
Generally, when the forklift dealer reviews the customer's operation, they will find that the forklift specification does not match the work they currently expect to complete. This happens because your business and material handling will change over time. It may be because your warehouse area has exceeded the scope and you have started to store materials on the floor or on shelves closer than in the past.
In order to obtain the best productivity, forklift trucks need to meet the mobility and upgrading requirements of today's applications. If they don't do this, you may spend more money to keep the overloaded forklift running, or spend extra money to buy a forklift that is too powerful for its moving load. Your fleet may not be fully utilized, which may mean that you need fewer units in your fleet.
If you have not asked the forklift dealer to conduct a thorough audit in the past three years, please call as soon as possible and ask for one. Your local forklift dealer can review your operation very well without paying any fees.
(05) Carry out planned maintenance
If you do not change the oil or filter, your new car will not run for three years. You know that to keep the car in good running condition, you need to follow the maintenance plan recommended by the manufacturer.
The same is true for forklift trucks. If you follow the maintenance procedures, you can find small abnormal conditions before they turn into major repairs and serious downtime, thus reducing downtime and overall operating costs.
(06) Read the instructions
In the operation and maintenance manual attached to each forklift, you will find a maintenance section containing the scheduled service interval. The manual also provides service details about the correct replacement fluid and service specifications. Using the fluids and replacement parts specified by the manufacturer will ensure that your forklift reaches its original design purpose.
There is also information about correct operation and important safety precautions, which can be viewed with your operator. If you lose the original manual attached to the forklift, you can ask your local dealer to provide a new manual.
(07) Train operators and pay attention to
The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires proper forklift operation training and forklift safety certification, and it is the law in most provinces of Canada. In addition, this is a good way to save costs. Forklift or product damage caused by improper operation may greatly reduce the company's profits. Take time to observe the operators at work. If you see that they are doing things that violate the company's policies, or show that they have forgotten the basic knowledge of correct operation of forklifts, you will know that it is time to carry out refresher training. You may also find that special equipment, such as G-force meter, steering suppressor, speed limit control device and other equipment can extend the service life of forklift and tire to a great extent, let alone reduce product damage.
Training operators to perform routine or pre-shift inspection procedures can not only find potential safety problems, but also help you save money. By solving any problems found by the operator during this inspection, you can help reduce accelerated wear of moving parts, reduce maintenance costs and possibly prevent workplace accidents.
(08) Maintain good internal management
If your facility is not kept clean and the floor or operating surface is not well maintained, all the training in the world cannot prevent the product and forklift from being damaged. Dust, dirt and debris can damage forklift components and systems. The uneven surface and wet or greasy floor may affect the service life of the forklift, and may cause accidents in the workplace, thus endangering the operator or personnel in the area.
