Reducing Unexpected Downtime with Planned Maintenance

Choosing the right forklift maintenance plan can be tricky, because of the variety and number of options available. Some facilities require a service call on an almost daily basis, depending on fleet size, the application, the operational schedule, location and maintenance requirements. While most of us, individually, wouldn’t want to have such a close relationship with our auto mechanic, regular forklift maintenance is critical to the functionality and safety of your equipment, while maximizing uptime.  

The functionality of the equipment affects the operator’s comfort and productivity. While these reasons alone should be motivation enough for regular planned maintenance, it is delayed because the operation is “too busy” or is experiencing “peak” season. Some customers choose to forego a planned maintenance plan altogether, hoping to maintain the equipment in house and on their own schedule, only to discover that it is, unfortunately, even easier to delay critical maintenance when it’s time to choose between service time and work time.  

While the flexibility of self-service forklift maintenance can be tempting, your service provider can provide you with more options than you might realize, whether it’s the breadth of the maintenance plan, available budget, or even a schedule to fit your operation. Don’t think of maintenance as a necessary evil, but as an enabler that increases runtime, boosts productivity and extends product life. When completed properly and regularly, planned maintenance can actually decrease the total cost of ownership on your equipment by enabling more uptime and minimizing unexpected disruptions. 

Imagine, for example, during the course of a planned maintenance inspection, your service technician checks the oil level in the drive unit and finds that it’s low. The technician adds oil to fill the drive unit during the planned maintenance and the issue is taken care of. Because the planned maintenance was completed, a potential issue was noticed and rectified, conveniently and efficiently, essentially costing the price of the planned maintenance. Were planned maintenance not being completed, the drive unit oil level may have gone unnoticed for an extended period time, inevitably causing the drive unit to run out of oil and which may cause a bearing to fail, requiring the drive unit to be replaced. Then, what follows could consist of a service call charge, labor to diagnose the issue, the expense of parts and possible shipping for parts, and if this issue occurs on a weekend or afterhours, you may require a rental truck or have to pay a higher rate for labor with afterhours charges. With routine planned maintenance being performed, what may have been a simple fix can quickly escalate up and into the thousands of dollars to fix. 

Typically, planned maintenance options range from a Time and Material approach to Full or Complete Maintenance options that are more comprehensive in terms of covered products and repairs. For example, the Complete Maintenance option offered by Crown includes fundamental maintenance to keep your forklifts running, plus coverage of some routine maintenance repairs and even some abuse repairs up to a defined threshold. All of Crown’s maintenance plans provide access to Crown’s Integrity Parts System and One Source Lift Truck Parts, with detailed service reports to keep you fully informed. Most plans also offer options to cover maintenance and repairs for batteries and chargers.   

Regardless of your application, having some type of planned maintenance is essential to monitoring and maintaining the health of your equipment. No matter the approach, it is important that planned maintenance is done on time to help prevent unexpected downtime and a loss in productivity.  

Planned maintenance can also help ensure that your equipment is maintained to published OSHA safety standards. While planned maintenance is performed, technicians should check wearable components, such as forks, chains and the mast. This inspection provides not only a visual check of the components themselves, but also an operational check to ensure that all forklift systems are functioning as planned. It also includes checking fluid levels and other consumables, like tires and other wearable components.  

When choosing a planned maintenance provider, in addition to considering the maintenance options they provide, it is also important to review how they operate. Are their technicians regularly trained and backed by a factory-based call center? Do they have other time-saving resources available to them, such as electronic dispatch and digital resources that help diagnose and address repairs? 

These are considerations that affect how quickly your technician can respond and how accurately they can diagnose and complete repairs on the first service call. A provider that can show they actively measure performance and first-time fix rate are typically good bets for reliable and effective service. 

Learn more about Crown’s Integrity Service system, including available planned maintenance options, and hear from customers who have experienced what proper maintenance can do for their uptime and productivity. In future blogs, we’ll also discuss how choosing the right parts and taking advantage of digital tools to request and monitor service can positively affect your service experience. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss these time-saving tips.