Lift truck industry sales in North America totaled over 220,000 units in 2015 – the first year lift truck sales were higher than the industry’s pre-recession level of 215,000 units in 2006, according to the Industrial Truck Association’s most recent report. The sale of electric lift trucks increased over 8 percent over the previous year and represented over 63 percent of all lift truck sales.
While these numbers represent forklift sales for all uses, cold storage operators have played an important role in the switch to electric – and not just in North America.
“Battery electric equipment has always been a significant proportion of the mobile plant requirements in the material handling industry,” says George Pappas, Director of Corporate Operations and Services for Linde Material Handling Australia. The combination of intelligent, fast-charging solutions and a very high demand for high productivity as well as low-emission equipment have led to the increasing use of battery-powered forklifts in cold storage, he adds.
The benefits of AC-powered electronic controls and motors on lift trucks include lower maintenance costs, improved reliability, and greater control, points out Ed Campbell, Forklift Sales Manager at Landoll Corporation. “Maintenance on the motor is almost non-existent because there is no carbon dust to affect performance, and it operates at lower temperatures and uses less energy,” he explains.
“The introduction of lithium batteries has affected the industry because they can be charged quickly with charging stations set up anywhere in the facility,” Campbell says. “A charging station near a breakroom allows the operator to charge the battery during a lunch break, which means the battery will operate a full shift with no downtime.” Although the batteries are expensive, Campbell sees more storage facility owners moving toward them because they don’t require changing, watering or a ventilation system so they work well in freezers, and fast-charge capability improves productivity.
Forklift trucks have also changed over the years to adapt to the new heights for cold storage facilities, says Susan Comfort, Product Manager of Narrow Aisle Products for Raymond Corporation. “While the average height of a warehouse 20 years ago was 20 feet, today the heights are 35 and sometimes 40 feet,” she explains.
Although there are a number of lift truck options for varying heights, Comfort suggests that for new construction or major renovation, owners involve material handling equipment providers early in the design process. “Input from providers on door heights, rack heights and aisle width requirements allow an owner to optimize the warehouse layout for maximum density and selectivity,” she explains.
Another productivity-related factor to consider when selecting a forklift is maintenance, says Maria Schwieterman, Senior Marketing Product Manager, Crown Equipment. “Given the quick turnover of perishable products in refrigerated warehouses, it’s important that managers evaluate the reliability and durability of the forklift to help decrease the possibility of downtime,” she explains. “Equally critical is the type of maintenance and service program that will support the fleet or new forklifts to help ensure uptime.” She suggests two questions that cold storage facility leaders should ask themselves: Are capabilities there for maintenance to be handled internally? If not, what sort of response time does the provider offer?
Length of service and maintenance costs are also important factors, Comfort says. “Typically the older the equipment the higher the maintenance costs, which means that there is a point in time when the maintenance costs are more than the cost to lease the equipment.” One trend that she has noticed is full maintenance agreements that keep cold storage companies out of the business of lift truck maintenance, she adds.
One often-overlooked best practice is to talk to multiple suppliers to compare options for forklifts, batteries and service agreements, says Campbell. But there is another step that must be taken before those conversations occur.
“Define your needs, don’t just call with a model number for a price,” Campbell suggests. “When we understand how you want the forklift to function, we can recommend the best equipment for your facility and your budget.” A few of the questions that should be asked in a self evaluation include:
How many loads are handled per shift?
How many loads need to be stored?
How fast must product be moved?
How high are the racks?
How wide are the aisles?
Does the forklift need to travel up ramps?
Will the equipment work in a freezer environment only, or will it travel outside?
Will equipment be used to unload trailers at a dock?
Because material handling providers offer a range of forklifts with a variety of optional features, having a good picture of the environment in which the lift truck is used enables the provider to offer options the warehouse owner may not know, Campbell adds.
Safety is a key consideration for any equipment purchase and employee training must be addressed as part of the purchase decision, Campbell notes. “It makes no sense to spend $60,000 on equipment but not spend $500 to train employees on the proper, safe way to use the forklift.” Training for U.S. companies is especially important because OSHA requires that operators be trained on each specific piece of equipment that will be handled. “Training is usually provided by the dealer network and should address specific OSHA requirements.”
Provider training often focuses on training the trainer – ensuring that each warehouse has someone who can provide in-house training for all employees. “We are also piloting a virtual reality training component to our Safety on the Move Training course,” Comfort says.
Raymond’s virtual reality (VR) training technology enables operators to use a lift truck in a simulation mode to train on preprogrammed exercises in a virtual warehouse environment. “This experience is designed to help new forklift operators become comfortable comfortable with the vehicle controls before operating in an actual warehouse,” Comfort explains.
“Always demand demonstrations,” Pappas declares. “Seeing what the equipment can do on or close to your site is critical. This shouldn’t be just for one day as it can normally take a lot longer to establish the equipment capabilities.”
In addition to verifying service capabilities through demonstrations and presentations, Pappas also recommends talking with other facilities using the specific equipment being considered and visiting warehouses to see the equipment used.
Although automation and big data have influenced forklift technology, the move to a totally automated warehouse, with all tasks performed by automated vehicles is not realistic at this time for most companies, Schwieterman says. “As new, lower-cost sensors and other advancements in technology are introduced, automation will expand to a wider range of forklift applications in warehousing and distribution.”
Big data applications, however, are already providing managers with information that they need to make better business decisions and improve the bottom line, says Schwieterman.
“Because of its role and close proximity to warehouse activity, the forklift is one of the primary data collectors in the warehouse,” she says. “For that reason, we are moving toward a connected warehouse in which the forklift is not only a roving sensor that reaches parts of the warehouse no other system is reaching, but is also a hub that collects data from various other devices, acts on this data, and consolidates and analyzes it for other systems.”
“At the end of the day, companies within the cold chain industry need to choose which forklifts they deem the best fit for their organization and business goals,” Schwieterman explains. “As they continue to plan their future supply chains, it is critical for them to engage forward-thinking forklift manufacturers early in the process to not only maximize new technology benefits but also insure they have forklifts and technology that are a good match with the application, facility and company’s supply chain strategy.”
Sheryl S. Jackson is a freelance writer based in Alpharetta, Georgia, who specializes in industry issues and trends. This article was originally published in the November-December issue of COLD FACTS Magazine.