New Year, New Focus on Forklift Power Management
It’s the time of the year when many of us make new resolutions and commit to taking steps that will lead to a healthier or happier lifestyle. As the holidays pass and the new calendar year is underway, we naturally focus on new beginnings, renewed focus and a determination to make changes for the better.
For the warehouse manager, the beginning of a new year is also an ideal time to adopt a similar view of the forklift fleet, but with an eye toward productivity. Make this the year to focus on forklift power management and ensure your forklift power solution(s) are meeting the needs of your operation.
One of the best ways to strengthen your focus on forklift power management and gain better insight into your power needs involves conducting a power study of your operation. This study may be conducted by the provider of your forklifts or the batteries and chargers that power your fleet. It’s even better if you have a single supplier for this equipment, as you’ll benefit from the supplier’s knowledge and experience in providing an integrated solution.
Crown’s motive power specialists have combined targeted monitoring, data analytics, and expert insight into an integrated power study that provides fleet managers with recommendations and best practices for enhancing both forklift and battery performance.
Real-time data is gathered from a broad sampling of frequently used forklifts using specialized battery monitoring technology. The data captured during this monitoring phase can help reveal how your fleet regularly consumes and replenishes power. Analysis and interpretation of this energy consumption data can help make informed decisions regarding power sources.
Modeling considers the applications, power usage and different charging scenarios and can help determine the best charging process, including the number and locations of charging stations. Recommendations may also include reassigning equipment to different tasks, adopting different charging techniques for specific equipment or selectively implementing different battery technologies, such as V-Force® lithium-ion batteries, for specific equipment and its assigned tasks.
How a Power Study Can Evolve Your Power Strategy
The following are three specific ways that a power study can help strengthen your focus on power management, enabling you to evolve your power strategy and enhance forklift performance.
1. Right-size your forklift fleet
Right-sizing your fleet can help improve utilization and efficiency in no small part by helping you determine the number of batteries you need. Ideally, every right-sizing exercise with your fleet should include battery utilization information.
The power study can help you right-size your forklift fleet based on the battery utilization information gathered. The study monitors amps per hour for each battery. You can then compare this to how many miles your forklifts are driven per shift or day and identify the ideal number of batteries required.
With this data, you can compare power usage and forklift utilization across different applications and shifts, revealing which applications or operator actions consume power at the highest rates or in total. Understanding the power the forklifts are using and how that power is discharged can lead to improved operator accountability and battery management practices.
2. Explore multiple battery technologies
Many benefits can be associated with the right combination of lithium-ion batteries and charging locations in certain applications. A power study can help you determine if adopting lithium-ion batteries is the right choice for the operation and provide recommendations for charging locations and processes.
For instance, a study of a fleet using lead-acid batteries may show that idle time is high, the power consumption rate is low, but the batteries do not last an entire shift. There may be a strong case to transition to lithium-ion power in such an application. Lithium-ion batteries charge more quickly and efficiently. With periodic opportunity charging, they can power the forklift through the entire shift and ultimately improve uptime.
In cases where part of the fleet should retain lead-acid batteries while the rest moves to introduce lithium-ion technology, consider using chargers like Crown’s V-Force V-HFM3 high frequency charger, which can be configured to charge lithium-ion or lead-acid batteries.
3. Optimize your charging practices
Conducting a power study can help you determine the proper charging method, or combination of methods, for the forklift fleet and operations.
There are three primary forklift battery charging methods: conventional, opportunity and fast charging. The most common method, conventional charging, is typically used for lead-acid batteries and allows for a complete recharge after the battery is discharged during normal operations. Typically, this method also requires a cool-down period following the charge, along with a weekly equalization charge, to maintain the health of the battery.
Opportunity or fast charging with lithium-ion batteries allows for more flexibility. A power study may reveal idle times – perhaps more than realized – when lithium-ion batteries could be replenished using these alternative charging methods without adversely affecting the battery’s overall life.
Once you identify the batteries and charging methods you want to employ, you can use forklift utilization data to help determine battery types and charging station locations to each forklift’s assigned tasks.
Lather, Rinse, Repeat
Your first power study establishes your focus on forklift power management and provides an excellent launch pad for what should be an ongoing process. Once recommendations are identified and implemented, results should continually be monitored to measure and interpret the effects on the performance and efficiency of the fleet. As your application evolves, power studies should be repeated periodically to help ensure your power requirements continue to be met, especially if there are modifications to pallet movement, racking, or even the weight of the product being moved.
Conducting regular reviews of your battery management efforts and comparing what you learned to how your fleet and operations are changing is essential. Armed with this information, you can make informed decisions about your power needs and strategy.
Resolving to focus on forklift power management is an important commitment and a power study is an excellent first step. However, continuing the focus after the power study is completed will help ensure that your power strategy evolves with your application, providing a path to measurable ROI on the performance of your fleet.