There are hundreds of standard and special order options available in the whole industry, and the fleet can specify the ideal forklift for their operation.
Most large forklift manufacturers provide dozens of models of multiple levels - so many combinations, the complete product lineup may make you dizzy. Then, you may think that all you need to do is find what you want, and then buy or rent the model, which can be said to be ready-made.
Although it is possible to do so, it may not be a wise move. In order to achieve maximum productivity at the lowest total cost, a forklift must be able to effectively perform the tasks required for a specific application. In addition, each operation has its own unique combination of personnel, 名媛直播, processes and infrastructure, and is subject to the specific performance standards of the facility or company. In most cases, a "normal" forklift can not meet the requirements at all.
In order to get what you need, consider customizing your forklift. In the field of forklift trucks, "customization" can include anything, from ordering special gantry designs, to adding accessories and accessories, to customizing and configuring on-board software And more. There are hundreds of standard and special order options to choose from, and today's fleet managers can provide ideal forklift specifications for their operations.
Why customize?
Troy Kaiser, strategic customer director of Toyota Material Handling Company, said that the significance of customization is to create a kind of equipment (essentially a special tool) to meet your specific situation in the most effective and effective way.
Jim Hess, general manager of warehouse business development of Yale Material Handling Company, said that at a more detailed level, there are many reasons for customization. For example, changes in the company's business model, customers or 名媛直播 may mean that forklifts suitable for work at the time of lease or purchase will need to be modified to deal with these new requirements.
Brandon Bullard, sales and marketing director of Clark Material Handling Company, believes that customization is the most common in the warehouse industry, because there are no two operations that are exactly the same. He attributed this demand to the wide range of 名媛直播 he handled - from small consumer goods in e-commerce to long and heavy carpet rolls, which are just two examples of countless possibilities.
Troy Kaiser (Toyota) said that "actively applying customization" is a typical practice of freight transportation, especially in less-than-truckload transportation, where the quantity, product shape and pallet configuration have changed greatly. In many examples he has seen, there is a special mast winch and belt to fix non-standard goods, and the scales on the ship to ensure correct billing and prevent overloading of trailers. "
In some applications, customization is absolutely necessary. Susan Comfort, senior manager of technical solutions and marketing of Raymond, said that in cold storage facilities, the mesh mast protection device to prevent the shield from freezing and the battery with good performance in cold conditions are crucial. It is necessary to help operators deal with the modification of heavy and huge goods more easily (and safely) in furniture distribution and auto parts and other industries. For example, she said that a customer specially ordered a forklift with four forks to handle the wide and heavy muffler.
Jim Hess (Yale) pointed out that in chemical and aerosol processing, any electrical components that produce sparks must be completely closed. In food processing, acid brine, frequent washing and moisture "will corrode the standard forklift", so it is necessary to use galvanized equipment that can help prevent rust and corrosion of materials and coatings to help extend the life of linkage system, wheels, bearings and other components.
However, customization is not only about load handling. Efforts to retain workers are creating customized requirements for operators and specific applications, such as airborne storage of commonly used items, seat options, changes in forklift size, and control to adapt to different types of operators. Christopher Grote, senior marketing product manager of Koran Equipment, pointed out that more and more customers asked operators to weigh what options and accessories they would need for the equipment they would use.
Operator safety plays a prominent role in customization. Rob Webb, executive vice president of customer solutions for Southern States Toyota, a Toyota material handling dealer, said: "Caring for employees is now a very big topic. Customers increasingly require modifications to help maintain the safety of operators. Another trend related to operators is to strengthen training“
Shannon Curtis, the ultra-narrow channel product manager of Raymond Company, said that she saw that someone asked to add more detailed details to the remote information processing system that tracks the position of the forklift -- for example, information about individual operators within a specific time range, collecting operator data, and recording the impact.
All these examples are just the tip of the iceberg of customization. Fortunately, forklift manufacturers are ready to deal with anything you might throw at them. And in many cases, you do not need to select modifications or accessories separately. For some industries, such as cotton/fiber and casting/brick, or temperature control or very dusty environment. "Customers can choose the pre-determined package, which has included all necessary modifications to improve productivity," said Victor Cruz, North American dealer sales director of Mitsubishi Wujiesh Americas.
Make it "special"
Forklift suppliers provide a long list of standard options, sometimes hundreds, aimed at improving safety and productivity. Some options apply to most or all models of the manufacturer, while others are specific to a certain level or model. However, although the list of these standard options is dazzling, it does not include all possibilities. For unusual or unique requirements that cannot be met by standard options, the manufacturer provides "special engineering", also known as "special requirements" or "special design". This non-standard customization accounts for more than 20% to half of the forklift orders delivered by the companies we interviewed for this article.
The special design is very complicated. The requirements must be evaluated by the manufacturer's engineers. They should not only consider from the perspective of feasibility (whether the production line can be produced), but also consider from the aspects of safety, performance and the standard compliance of specific forklift models - to verify that the required modifications "will not damage the integrity of the forklift", as Toyota's Kaiser said. Just give a few examples of special requirements: non-standard dimensions of overhead protective devices that will drive into the rack; Shorter wheelbase and higher gantry to make the forklift of a specific model higher than normal in a narrow space; And modification that allows heavier pallets to be lifted to higher positions. Grote of Cologne said that it might even be meaningful to consider changing the physical size of the forklift, for example, changing the width of the turret forklift to meet the density target. Not surprisingly, this customization may be expensive. However, if the manufacturer has previously provided similar modifications to another customer, this may reduce costs.
Customizations that require engineering changes, such as those that affect the capacity, measurement and performance of forklift trucks, will be completed in the factory. This also applies to technology-related projects, such as speed governors that allow faster lifting and lower speed, and terminal connections of on-board computers and scanners. Raymond's Comfort cited software that can be configured for individual customers by opening certain functions, such as controlling how high the operator can raise when outside the designated area.
Webb (Toyota dealer) said that local dealers can install less complex additional functions, such as the blue or red pedestrian warning lights that are widely used now. He pointed out that although local dealers usually lead the contact with end users, they will introduce subject matter experts from forklift or accessory manufacturers when necessary.
The option added by the dealer can usually be ordered as a package, and its cost is included in the price of the forklift. According to Bullard, when it comes to leasing or bank loans, this method is typical because the loan will be based on the total cost of the equipment.
However, more and more optional accessories and accessories are installed in the factory. One reason is that the cost of doing so may be lower. Another reason is that in terms of accessories, there is no need to coordinate the delivery of forklifts and accessories, and there is no need to wait for the arrival and installation of the accessories manufacturer's technicians.
Safety is above all else
Although forklift manufacturers want to be as inclusive as possible, sometimes they have to say no to customers' requirements. Cruz pointed out that sometimes this is because retrofitting is not economically feasible for small batch orders. However, most rejections are for security reasons. "We strive to be flexible, but safety is the touchstone of any customization. If we can't lift the goods safely, then we won't modify it." Bullard said, "This is not to say that the requirements are not safe; it is that the configuration they require cannot be completed, nor can they provide a safe product."
Curtis said that her company has a similar policy. She said, "We guide our customers to stay away from any customization that does not meet the American National Standards Association's low and high forklift standards."
Hess stressed that any changes or additions, including those you want to do yourself, should be discussed with your local dealer and forklift manufacturer to ensure that they comply with the standards applicable to forklifts by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Main points of thinking
Once you and your forklift supplier determine that customization is the right way, there are many considerations to keep in mind when you evaluate options. We provide the following suggestions for the experts consulted in this article.
Start with on-site consultation, so that the dealer team can study the facilities and understand the background of the tasks you want to complete. "We did receive inquiries from customers who said, 'I need to consider customizing my forklift', but this [often] is a symptom of a bigger problem." Webb said, "At the beginning, it is a discussion about the forklift, and at the end, it may be a discussion about the material flow.".
Don't stick to assumptions about what you need. Grote of Crown Equipment said that the role of forklift suppliers is to objectively analyze the situation and provide you with solutions to problems, not just to sell equipment to you. Therefore, although customization will be the right choice in many cases, sometimes it cannot solve the problem at hand. The supplier may propose another solution, such as different model series or some degree of automation.
Be open to new ideas. "Hess of Yale Material Handling Company said," I have been in this industry for 40 years. In the longest time, people replace the forklift with the same thing every five years. But many changes have taken place now And [now] there are many innovations, which may be exactly what you need, but you don't even know its existence. Each manufacturer will provide different things, so don't limit your search to one supplier. "
Think longer. You don't want to find that your customized design becomes obsolete due to changes in your operation, application or technology after creating something unique one or two years later. Therefore, Kaiser of Toyota Material Handling Company suggests considering the development of your application in the next 5 to 10 years. He said that widely customized buyers tend to keep their forklifts for 7 to 10 years, while the typical, standard 3 to 4 years of forklift rental.
Consider and quantify the impact of modifications on productivity, safety and cost. We must consider the positive and potential negative impacts, said Cruz of Mitsubishi Wujiesh. For example, customization usually increases the cost of forklifts and extends the delivery time, while some customization will have a negative impact on the market resale value, he explained.
Plan ahead and be ready to wait. According to Bullard of Clark Material Handling Company, as of the writing of this report, the time from ordering to delivery is 1 to 2 years, depending on the manufacturer's situation. He said that lingering supply chain problems and unprecedented demand -- some of which came from buyers ordering multiple forklifts because they were worried that they could not get what they wanted when they wanted it -- were the main culprits. Therefore, customized forklifts may have to wait for a long time, and some buyers may be forced to accept whatever happens.
The road to customization begins with asking questions, no matter how theoretical or far-fetched they seem. Every forklift manufacturer has a group of excellent engineers whose job is to solve technical problems and design customized solutions, so "don't be afraid to ask any questions!" Kaiser suggested: "We will study your requirements, and if there is something we can't do, we will come up with alternative solutions and try our best to make them available to you."
