Reducing Forklift Downtime with Predictive Maintenance Strategies
Predictive maintenance tools are a great way to keep your forklifts working without unexpected downtime. In this article, we’ll discuss what predictive maintenance looks like, why it’s better than traditional methods, and how periodic maintenance and reporting solutions, PIV access control systems, and forklift usage reporting can help you reduce downtime and keep your operations moving.
What Is Predictive Maintenance?
Predictive maintenance includes tools and systems that help you anticipate common forklift issues before they cause problems. Instead of waiting until a forklift breaks down or relying on a set maintenance schedule, predictive maintenance uses data to figure out when something’s likely to fail, then lets you get ahead of it. Sensors, software, and reporting often can be used together to paint a picture of your forklift fleet’s status.
Traditional vs. Periodic vs. Predictive Forklift Maintenance
With traditional maintenance, staff often wait until a forklift breaks to fix it. With periodic maintenance, you might schedule regular checkups, regardless of whether they’re needed or not, and use that schedule to keep your forklifts running. With predictive maintenance, you’ll use systems to monitor performance and usage data, which then determines when maintenance should be done on what forklift.
Predictive maintenance is a superior option because you’re no longer guessing or just following a calendar. You’re responding to actual wear and tear and environmental conditions to determine which forklifts need work and when.
How Does Forklift Usage Reporting Work?
One of the most powerful tools in predictive maintenance is forklift usage reporting. If you can track exactly how, when, and how hard each forklift is being used, you’ll be able to detect potential issues before they become serious.
Modern forklift fleets can be equipped with telematics systems that log things like run time, lift cycles, and operator behavior. That data then gets fed into a dashboard where you can spot patterns in wear and tear, identify underused or overused forklifts, and schedule maintenance based on actual workload. For example, let’s say Forklift A is lifting twice as many loads per shift as Forklift B. Why should they both get maintenance at the same time? With usage reporting, you can tweak your periodic maintenance to fit each vehicle’s needs.
What are PIV Access Control Systems?
Personal Identity Verification, or PIV systems, make sure that only authorized operators can access your forklifts. When you know exactly who’s operating which forklift, how long they’re using it, and what they’re doing with it, you can gain insights into each forklift’s performance as well as operator habits. Combine this with usage reporting, and you can identify when improper usage might be leading to premature wear or increased risk of breakdown.
For example, if you notice one operator constantly revving a machine harder than others and that machine needs more frequent repairs, you’ve uncovered an opportunity for coaching and preventive maintenance.
How to Set Up a Predictive Maintenance Strategy
How do you use predictive maintenance in your facility? Here, we cover a few ways to get started.
Look at the Data
Make sure you’re collecting data from your forklifts. That includes usage logs, performance metrics, battery levels, error codes, and maintenance history. Modern forklifts often come with onboard sensors, or you can retrofit older models with the necessary tracking technology.
Use Forklift Usage Reporting Tools
Use software that compiles the data into a dashboard. You should be able to filter by forklift, operator, shift, or location, and spot the red flags before something goes wrong.
Set Up Automated Alerts
Many systems allow you to set parameters that trigger alerts when certain conditions are met. For example, if a forklift’s hydraulic system hits a certain temperature or brake wear exceeds safe thresholds, the system tells your maintenance team automatically.
Add Periodic Maintenance and Reporting Solutions
Predictive maintenance isn’t meant to replace periodic maintenance. By combining predictive tools with scheduled inspections, you’ll have an approach that makes sure no issue goes unnoticed.
Train Your Team
Make sure everyone, including technicians, operators, and floor managers, is up to speed. When your team understands why you’re using predictive maintenance, they’ll be more likely to use the tools and provide feedback, which can make everything work better.
Should You Use Predictive Maintenance?
Setting up predictive maintenance may take a little time upfront, but you’ll get a lot in return, including less unplanned downtime, longer equipment life, lower maintenance costs, improved safety, and better ROI on equipment. This is because you’re treating each forklift based on its actual activity.
To give an example of this, let’s say you run a warehouse with 20 forklifts. In the past, you serviced each one every three months, no matter what. But when you started using usage reporting and predictive maintenance tools, you realized that five of those forklifts were barely being used, while three were handling most of the work. You adjusted your maintenance schedule accordingly, scheduling more frequent service for the forklifts doing more work and less for the underused units. You also noticed that one forklift was consistently overheating, so you swapped it before it failed, avoiding a week of downtime. This is just one illustration of why many facilities benefit from using predictive maintenance systems.
Learn More About Forklift Maintenance Systems
By investing in predictive maintenance, you’ll boost safety and keep your entire operation running on schedule. Here at ELOKON, we offer a cloud-based forklift fleet management system called ELOfleet Smart. It’s the world’s most app-centric fleet management system for material handling equipment and integrates smartphone capabilities into forklifts to improve access control, safety checklists, impact monitoring, and fleet performance data.
Additionally, the ELOfleet Smart app uses the power of smartphones and tablets for system configuration, on-vehicle controls, sensor inputs, and network communications. The system is OEM-neutral and can be installed on any type, brand, or age of forklift.
Our technologies align with the cutting-edge advancements of Industry 4.0. Thousands of customers in 45 countries benefit from our solutions. If you’re ready to improve your operations, contact us today to learn more.