How To Reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of Your Forklift Fleet

As the official TCM Forklift Truck dealer for Yorkshire, CAM Fork Lift Trucks and TCM have partnered up to give you some tips on how to reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of your Forklift Fleet. At CAM, we take a consultative approach to help you find the best Material Handling Solution for your application.

The first step to understanding and reducing TCO is to calculate your fleet’s current total costs. Without an accurate breakdown of operational information and the related costs to your business, how can you identify where you could make potential savings?

Identifying the right battery

Lower battery capacity means that charging intervals are recommended, often during working shifts. For example, Lithium batteries should be charged regularly across the working day, generally during break periods, however, these batteries also charge quickly. During charging periods, it’s important to note the truck and driver are not operational, impacting how you plan shifts.

Alternative solutions such as NiCd batteries mean the truck is usable 24/7 and offer quick, regular charging when the vehicle is not in action. Similar to Lithium Batteries in operation, NiCd batteries have a lower investment cost.

With a view to reducing investment costs even further, lead acid batteries with air circulation can offer rapid charging. Offering a higher capacity than lithium batteries, lead acid solutions operate for longer periods. Charging would be required for approximately three hours in total within a 24-hour period.

Additionally, lead acid batteries including air circulation also support ‘opportunity charging’ allowing operators to charge equipment during break periods. As a result, this solution will allow companies to increase productivity and keep TCO down by enabling shifts to be uninterrupted by constant charging or battery changes.

Assessing your equipment

If your forklifts aren’t suitable for the loads and materials they are transporting, this can create inefficiencies such as a slower operation, not to mention a greater risk of accidents occurring.

Making sure operators have the right Forklifts and Warehouse Equipment to safely and efficiently complete their everyday tasks will not only improve your operation’s overall productivity but save a significant amount of money in the long run.

Reducing downtime

Equipment downtime may not be one of the most visible costs when analysing TCO, however, it contributes to a substantial loss of revenue. As a matter of fact, a report from 2017 revealed that downtime costs Britain’s manufacturers £180bn a year. That’s a cost you won’t want your Material Handling Equipment contributing towards.

Some of the common causes of downtime include drained batteries and operator sickness and injury. To optimise battery charging and prevent truck downtime, operators should ensure opportunity charging with batteries suitable for regular charging.

As operator sickness and injury are also contributory factors to downtime, preventative measures can be particularly beneficial. For example, employees should commit to carrying out regular safety checks and maintenance to minimise safety risks.

The potential cost of an accident for both operators and the company range from minor to severe. In order to minimise incidents and protect both operator safety and the company’s finances, prevention is better than cure. By implementing the correct safety measures, downtime caused by accident or injury can become a thing of the past.

Get in touch with us for a FREE no-obligation consultation on reducing your TCO!

Contact us by calling 0114 243 3332 or emailing sales@camforklifts.co.uk.