1. Get the Right Power
Could switching to electric save over 30% per annum? Despite the current trend for LPG, electric power and diesel still remain popular forms of operating forklift trucks. However, when it comes to which forklift truck is more cost efficient, it seems there are pros and cons to all. The annual operating costs (rental, maintenance & fuel) for an average 2.0 tonne capacity model differs depending on the fuel type; electric and diesel costing around £6.5K a year and LPG nearing the £8.5K mark, so it may seem cheaper to go for electric or diesel. Electric trucks are generally more expensive to buy than diesel and LPG trucks and, depending on the life span of the truck, may require double the batteries. LPG on the other hand is cheaper in bulk, but susceptible to price rises. Diesel trucks can be run on DERV (red diesel) which is the cheapest fuel on the market but illegal for use in trucks travelling on the road. In switching to electric you may be buying a more expensive piece of kit, but paying up to 38% less in fuel.
2. Weigh up your suppliers
It’s surprising, but true, that some manufacturers provide an ‘approximate’ supply of goods. For example, the brewing industry doesn’t sell its beer in pints, it sells them in barrels, which could contain more, or less, than the 22 gallons the landlord expects. Matches too come in boxes marked ‘contains between 90-100’ and there’s similar approximate measures in many bulk industries. When something says 90-100, you can be sure that it closer to 90 than 100. A set of weighing scales can provide valuable insight on suppliers of items like paper rolls. If they’re consistently light, as has been known to happen, users are able to re-negotiate their supply on the basis that ‘more or less’ usually means less.
3. Know your fleet
It’s usually the case that the bigger the fleet, the bigger the potential saving. In our experience fleet utilisation can often be around 20-30%. That means you’re paying 70% too much! Adding fleet utilisation systems to your fleet allows you to put hard facts in the place of guess work and anecdotal evidence.
It may seem obvious, but If you’re lifting heavy stuff, you need bigger, larger capacity trucks to do the job. Conversely, you don’t want a truck that’s too big if you’re not lifting very much. Not having to buy a more expensive, larger capacity truck saves money if you’re not lifting large loads.
4. Train your operators
Training may substantially lower operating costs. Although it is a legal requirement for operators to be trained on equipment, making sure they are trained to higher standards can cut also costs. Well trained drivers, know the ins and outs of their vehicles and are more aware of obstacles around the site. This tends to mean that they cause fewer accidents because they are more aware and more informed with how to use their vehicle. Studies show that this means that they are in less accidents. If they are indeed having fewer, there are lower costs for the repair of equipment and fewer costs relating to damaged building infrastructure and accidental equipment damage.
5. Smart parts provision
Save on every part by shopping around. Knowing which suppliers to choose to supply the right parts is vital when cutting your costs. It may be one supplier can get the parts you need for a much cheaper price than your current supplier as they may have more access to the parts at a cheaper agreed price. Windsor can supply parts for almost all makes and models of forklift trucks, access platforms and warehouse equipment carrying over 90% of line items in stock. Their branches have daily replenishments of stock and their parts prices are highly competitive. Furthermore, if Windsor does not have the part in stock, they can obtain them from their established supply agreements, which mean they can be available within 24 hours.
Should we care if the loser of a tennis match may actually be the all-round winner? The Simpson’s Paradox suggests yes…
Occasionally in tennis, the loser can actually win more points than the winner. It may sound strange, but the scoring system suggests losers could have been winners, and as the so-called Simpson’s Paradox proves, it’s not just tennis where combined data can uncover a different trend that may not be apparent on face value.
Tennis legend and multiple record holder, Roger Federer, is the leading example of a winning loser. In many of the matches he lost, the winner earned less than half of the total points he scored, more than any other player in fact. Why? Perhaps in Federer’s case, his opponents are the underdogs, conserving their energy, dropping a few points so that they can win the next set and the overall match.
But it’s not just tennis where the paradox shows up. It’s also prevalent in other areas of everyday life, such as medical treatments and gender bias. As the Simpsons Paradox points out, the key is not to always take things at face value, because you may have to lose some contests, to be statistically triumphant in others.
The sales volumes may have always been small, between 1%-5% of the worldwide forklift market, but sideloaders are firmly established as the materials handling equipment of choice for unconventional loads.
A variation on the common forklift truck, the side loader truck is able to load at the side and in most cases within the vehicle platform, enabling it to make use of its storage space.
Carrying the load at the side is immediately beneficial in terms of safety, especially when transporting cumbersome goods over various distances, such as timber, steel girders or long vehicle chassis. Speed is also an issue, with sideloaders being particularly common in large ports and docks.
Operator safety is also a commonly cited reason for using sideloaders. To transport the type of load seen on a sideloader with a standard forklift, the materials have to be carried sideways on, causing problems with space as well as storage.
Carrying goods lengthways also has a dramatic effect on the load centre, potentially causing an overbalancing of the vehicle and increased risk towards the operator.
Sideloaders are often deeply entrench-ed in many forms of primary manufacturing. The timber and steel industries are two of the main markets that use sideloaders for the movement of goods in a fast and safe manner, and Baumann has the proven global expertise in this market to provide its customers with dedicated machines that are geared specifically to the industry demands.
Baumann have manufactured sideloaders in the same factory in Cavaion, Italy since 1969 – indeed some of the production team are third generation of the same family and the first engineer employed is now the Technical Director.
Operating through 106 dealers in 76 countries across the globe, Baumann Cavaion is the largest manufacturer of sideloaders from 3 to 50 tonnes.
Despite being seen somewhat unfairly as a niche product, and the added competition from multi-directional machines, the demand for Baumann sideloaders continues to grow.
Product features, such as its deck stabilising system, comfortable cabins and fuel-saving load indicators ensures the range continues to advance, but the basic premise of the machine remains the same.
Sideloaders are also said to be unique in their ability to be adapted for unusual applications, such as moving illegally parked cars, utilising vacuum attachments or working offshore.
“We have developed our machines to cope with almost anything that could be thrown at them,” says Baumann UK’s Andrew Burton. “With the introduction of solid steel outreach cylinders and bearings that can be up to 50% larger than any other side loader found on the market, we’ve added strength where it is needed. Depending on the chassis specifications the steel can be up to 3 inches thick around the well width, the area in which the forks operate.”
As the safety of the operator is of the utmost importance, a more direct approach has been taken to ensure against injury whilst operating in more extreme environments.
Drivers are now situated in reinforced cabs which are surrounded by heavy duty steel mesh on windowed areas, and in areas that don’t interfere with the driver’s line of site; solid steel plates are present covering almost every part of the cab.
“We are very proud of our heritage as well as our design capabilities,” concludes Andrew. “Of course industries are continually changing and to ensure that side loader trucks are able to keep up with newly developed markets and industrial techniques, new and innovative designs will undoubtedly be needed.
With constant reinforcement and development, Baumann will continue to be the backbone of heavy industry and provide invaluable transport through some of the most extreme environments, for many years to come.”
[share title="Share this Post" facebook="true" twitter="true" google_plus="true" linkedin="true" email="true"]Five data sets that on-board systems provide:
1.Trip and Data Recording
Date, time, journey duration, vehicle speed, RPM, journey departure and arrival time, driver name, driver ID and vehicle ID are all recorded.
2.Driving Violations
Directional impact sensing , overloading, excess idling, seat belt violation, overspeeding and over types of violations can be registered. (more…)
For someone who probably got on and did a little too much at times, Margaret Thatcher, was nothing if not determined.
“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end,” said the former Iron Lady. “It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it.”
For years, there have been announcements about trials of forklift trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Concerns about the supply infrastructure for hydrogen fuel cells and safety questions over the refuelling process saw the early tide of forklift trials slow to a trickle. That’s no longer the case and some key fuel cell announcements have been made in the past few months – on both sides of the Atlantic.
When John L. Grove retired after spending many years building the family crane manufacturing company into an industry leader, he and his wife set out on a cross-country trip.
From that fateful trip emerged JLG Industries, Inc., the world’s leading manufacturer of mobile aerial work platforms and specialized material handling equipment.
1. Wembley Stadium
FA owned ‘venue of legends’. Over ran by 5 years, true cost estimated at £975m.
2. Sydney Opera House Danish designed, performing arts centre and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Cost 15 times more than expected, opened 10 years late.
3. Suez Canal Expensive shortcut. 20 times more costly than expected, took 10 years to build.
4. Concorde Supersonic passenger jet. Cost £1.3bn to develop (£48m for every year in service), 12 times more than expected. At it’s peak, made over £5m a week for BA.
5. The Big Dig Tunnel
The most expensive highway project in the U.S, a megaproject that re-routed the main highway through the heart Boston, into a 3.5-mile tunnel. Plagued by escalating costs, design flaws, substandard materials, leaks, criminal arrests, and four deaths. Scheduled to be completed in 1998 at an estimated cost of $2.8 billion, the project was not completed, until December 2007, at a cost of over $14.6 billion. The Boston Globe estimated that the project will ultimately cost $22 billion, including interest, and that it will not be paid off until 2038.
Best known for his adage, “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion” former 1950s civil servant, C. Northcote Parkinson, has passed into business folklore as a wry observer of corporate culture. So much so that the law has even gone global, as Mikhail Gorbachev observed in 1986, when Alessandro Natta complained about a swelling bureaucracy in Italy, “Parkinson’s Law works everywhere”.
Batteries are vital components of forklifts. To ensure that your forklifts run well, you need to ensure proper charging. Making certain that your batteries are charged according to the manufacturer’s recommendation will help them to last as long as possible.
