Knowing how to handle discrete loads is one thing, but a load can also be defined as a systemic burden. Lift truck suppliers are proving that information management can be one of your best load handling devices.

By Tom Andel, Editor in chief -- Modern Materials Handling, 12/10/2008

Lift truck manufacturers are starting to offer new services for managing information as well as pallet loads.

Fleet management

For example, Crown Equipment Corporation just introduced Insite, a tool which uses data to give users insights about the productivity and efficiency of their lift trucks, operators, applications and fleets.

“By capturing material handling data and other knowledge gained from Insite, we foresee a future where fleet managers are able to analyze results and make better decisions that will improve their overall efficiency and bottom line,” says Crown president Jim Dicke.

MBM Corporation, a leader in food distribution, uses the InfoLink module to track fleet usage and FleetSTATS to manage lift truck maintenance costs and to centralize invoicing.

Another module, Access 1 2 3, monitors and controls key lift truck components and systems to maximize performance and provide real-time diagnostics. The system also analyzes the age and types of trucks and measures the true cost of maintenance. Reports and spreadsheets help customers achieve the lowest total cost of ownership.

Managing downtime when disaster strikes

The Raymond Corporation is offering a tool to help customers minimize the cost of downtime caused by natural disasters. Raymond’s recovery planning services enable warehouses, distribution centers and retailers to minimize lift truck downtime after a disaster that may cause power outages affecting the ability to charge lift truck batteries, for example.

Case in point: In September 2008, Malin Integrated Handling Solutions, a Raymond Service Center, used four branches in Texas and Louisiana to provide extra equipment to 30 home improvement retail stores in the hurricane region, including 61 fully charged electric lift trucks and extra batteries. Raymond and the retailer had an established disaster recovery plan in place to ensure that the stores in the hurricane region would receive the lift trucks and charged batteries they needed to open for business immediately after the storm.

“As part of our plan, we speak with our customer contacts on a regular basis as a storm approaches to find out how many stores are expected to be affected by the hurricane,” says Edgar Warriner, vice president of national accounts for The Raymond Corporation. “We then work with Raymond Service Centers in the area to stage equipment outside the hurricane region so it can quickly be delivered as soon as the storm ends.”