Here, there, and everywhere—new technology is developing at rapid rates. With advances taking place in so many areas of the material-handling industry, how can technology impact the management of your forklift fleet? What processes will improve by knowing everything from what the operator is doing at all times, to specific vehicle performance? Better labor management, fleet optimization, and planned vehicle maintenance to name a few. It’s important to understand that quantifying certain aspects of your material-handling equipment is a necessary part of effective management for the entire operation. Here we will take a look at the main areas of insight.

Data from the lift truck – Looking at the dash of today’s lift trucks shows just how complicated the modern forklift is.  Data is collected from sensors, microprocessors, and CAN Bus ^[1] systems to provide a host of information for evaluation. What data is collected, what improvements can be made as a result of the data, and how can it reduce costs?

Managing labor – The information received from this technology can inform managers about the actions of each forklift operator. What they are doing, or what they could be doing can be better evaluated. Performance data related to productivity can help identify why an operator’s performance fell short of or exceeded standards. Also, safety is impacted because of accident reduction. It's safe to say that operators will be more safety-minded and conform to standards when knowing their performance is being monitored.

Optimize the forklift fleet – Data showing the time it takes to complete a task can help identify the right forklift for the right operation. Other data collected from the fleet can provide insight on energy consumption and service scheduling. Too much downtime? The data collected can even help determine when it’s time to replace a forklift.

Planned maintenance – Keeping downtime to a minimum, reduced repair costs, and increased machine life are some benefits of planned maintenance.  A fleet management system can provide data that shows the need for maintenance—before the forklift goes down.

OSHA checks and balances – Fleet management systems can lead to the better efficiency of your OSHA compliance efforts. For example; operator certification management, forklift impact detection, and vehicle inspections. Access to the vehicles can be limited to allow only certified operators at the controls. If an accident occurs, managers will immediately know where it happened and who is responsible. And if a forklift fails inspection, it will not be allowed to be used by an operator.

Fleet management technology can be a game-changer when it comes to improving the efficiencies of your fleet and therefore reducing costs. Understanding the information collected is essential. An excellent article on this subject is “”Decoding the mysteries of fleet management” by Josh Bond. Download it here.

In NE Pennsylvania, Action Lift is your connection to the Crown Insite Productivity Suite.This integrated system consists of the InfoLink Fleet and Operator Management System along with FleetSTATS Fleet Maintenance Management System. These tools support better decision-making and improve bottom line results through a disciplined approach to capturing and presenting data for action-oriented results.

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References:

https://sewelldirect.com/learning-center/canbus-technology

http://www.mmh.com/article/decoding_the_mysteries_of_fleet_management

http://www.crown.com/en-us/fleet-management.html

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