If you’ve decided to implement telematics in your forklift fleet, you’ve taken the first step toward making your business more efficient. Forklift fleet analytics gives you data on the health of your forklifts and ultimately, your business. But once you have all that data, what are you supposed to do with it? Here’s how to turn your forklift fleet analytics into action and savings for your business.
Optimize Fuel Management
Fuel costs are rising, which can quickly eat into your business profits. If you’re seeing a rise in energy costs for your fleet, your telematics data can help you find solutions. That data can be used to analyze when and how your forklifts use too much energy. Whether it’s due to operator errors, maintenance issues, or something else, the data can help point you in the right direction to figure out why your costs are spiking. You may need to drill into data by specific forklifts, shifts, days, and times to track it down, but the answer is in your data. Start with a simple question: how much and where do your operators idle?
Monitor Operator Actions
Hard brakes, fast accelerations, and riding the inching pedal can all contribute to maintenance issues. If one unit constantly needs extra maintenance, it may be due to your operators’ behavior. Use your data to see which operators may need to be retrained sooner rather than later so you can reduce costs and increase safety in your workplace.
Automate Forklift Maintenance
The beautiful thing about fleet analytics is that it can help you see patterns. Your telematics data delivers warning signs of incoming breakdowns and other maintenance issues as well as identify areas in your facility that could be improved. For example, decreasing your maintenance interval or increasing your equipment replacement cycle can help reduce downtime and increase profitability. Further, moving a rack that causes a choke point may eliminate damage or fixing broken concrete stops the repeated jolts that cause axle repairs. Invest in telematics now and you’ll see maintenance investments pay off in the long run.
Automate Forklift Maintenance
Look at cost per hour to measure equipment, maintenance, fuel, and other expenses. Once you have a complete picture of your equipment overhead, you can adjust accordingly. If you see one forklift’s cost per hour increasing, it can be a sign that the forklift may be nearing the end of its economic lifespan. However, optimizing your fuel usage and maintenance intervals using data can help reduce your cost per hour overall and increase your business’s profits. That’s a win-win for any business.
Forklift fleet data analysis can greatly impact your business. At Thompson & Johnson, we know that good data leads to good decisions. Our expert fleet management team is here to help you unlock the knowledge hiding in your data. Call Thompson & Johnson today to speak to an equipment specialist or fill out a Customer Request Email Form above!
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