The systems that organize transport flows occupy a definite and very important place in the value chain. In many cases, the economic success of a company is determined by the efficiency of the handling equipment, the most common of which in warehouses are forklifts. The level of this efficiency can only be determined through standardized values or parameters.
In order to examine this problem in detail, the Department for Transport Systems and Logistics at the University of Duisburg-Essen undertook a special project called "Application of Floor Handling Equipment". The aim of the study was to systematize the different methods of measuring the operating time of transport equipment and to assess what the consequences of their use might be in terms of various costs. The time during which a forklift truck is in use is recorded by an hour meter.
Accurate measurement of this value is very important because a parameter such as operating time is used in calculating regular payments in certain types of lease, rental or maintenance contracts, as well as in determining the residual value of transport equipment. If the duration of use is incorrectly determined, there is a potential danger to personnel, as it also affects the maintenance schedule of the forklift truck. The operating time also serves as the basis for calculating the number of transport equipment fleets in the plant.
Since equipment manufacturers use different methods for estimating the operating time of their equipment, at the moment there is no objective possibility for operators to compare them. A single concept based on one optimally chosen measurement parameter could be a way out of the situation. That is why many forklift truck manufacturers have shown a keen interest in this problem and have responded very positively to the survey carried out by the department. In the study of scientists were involved companies Atlet, Mitsubishi, BT, Сlark, Crown, Jungheinrich, Linde, Nissan, OM Kion Group, STILL, Toyota, Willecke, Yale and Hyster (Zeppelin).
It is known that the total cost of a forklift truck, calculated over its lifetime, consists of 20% of acquisition costs and 80% of production costs. Specific methods of measuring the duration of use of a forklift truck, which are used by the manufacturers, can not give sufficient information about its current state, resulting in less effective planning of maintenance and monitoring of its performance. The lack of objective criteria also increases equipment downtime and maintenance costs, making it difficult to compare and evaluate maintenance and other costs. Therefore, operators should be well aware of and consider the differences between the individual methods of measuring duration of use.
Determining the duration of use of floor transportation equipment is done in a variety of ways and depends on both the manufacturer and the form of the contract. For a forklift, the following criteria are commonly used:
According to the survey, the consensus among the leading forklift truck manufacturers is that there are no standardized methods for measuring forklift usage today. This means that it's up to the forklift truck manufacturer to determine which of the above-mentioned parameters the hour meter shows for a particular forklift truck.
The basis for calculating the vehicle is the measurement of "operating hours", because this parameter is the optimal, most economically justified criterion for monitoring the level of operation of forklifts from the point of view of their owners (Fig. 1). Equipment manufacturers must deal with the problems that arise from different methods of measuring equipment usage in order to be able to better meet customer needs. They all regard the criteria "on-time" and "operating hours" as equivalent for equipment with an internal combustion engine, since the latter starts immediately when the machine is turned on.
The possibility of having different measurement methods from one manufacturer to another (Fig. 2) should be carefully studied by the operators, as it can have economic consequences for them. For example, when leasing a forklift truck for 1,000 hours of operation, different manufacturers may use different methods to measure that operation, so operators should first ask the manufacturers which measurement methods they use and agree on their positions.
If you choose the "operating hours" criterion, other methods of measuring operating time may result in significantly different costs per hour of operation. In the end, a situation may arise where "apples to pears" are compared. Using the "operating hours" criterion compared to other methods of measuring the "operating hours" or "turn-on time" criteria means that the intervals between maintenance sessions will become longer, and therefore the overall service costs will be reduced.
However, even if the cost per 1,000 production hours is the same for all manufacturers, the actual cost to consumers can vary greatly. This means that although the hourly cost of operating different machines will be the same for the consumer, the costs for a forklift whose meter measures "on time" will "click" faster. Thus, if the contract for the operation of the forklift truck over 1000 hours, the cost of its maintenance on the basis of the "on time" criterion would be 7,540 euros, and in the case of the "working hours" criterion it would be only 2,000 euros.
For a forklift truck operating in a picking yard, the difference in costs according to the different measurement methods can be clearly explained with the help of a graph (Fig. 3). In the survey, a third of the forklift truck manufacturers analyzed the measurement methods for the duration of use of their equipment and their impact on cost levels. In most cases, they pre-set methods of measuring operating time to customers and guarantee machine life of 10,000 to 15,000 operating hours.
It is accepted that a forklift truck has an economically justifiable life span of about eight years, with an average load of 60%. A more accurate lifespan varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and the difference in maintenance costs for the companies surveyed was 40 percent.
The United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM) shows that the average service life of industrial forklifts in the United States is 11,200 hours (as of June 30, 2003). Another independent survey of 500 firms found that only 6% of those surveyed knew the hourly maintenance cost per forklift in their fleet, and 25% of companies had an information system that logged what personnel and parts were needed to keep a forklift working properly. Over the past five years, the price of each new forklift has increased by 6...8%, and over the same period the price of spare parts and repair costs have increased by 18...22%. Maintenance costs per production hour are increasing annually by 14 to 18%.
Good fleet management can continuously reduce the total cost of material flows and increase productivity. It is difficult to overestimate the contribution that correct recording of the data from the machine hour meters makes to it: they provide reliable information for making decisions on the selection of the optimal fleet size, help to achieve maximum productivity and reduce downtime.
Financially, rental agreements allow for regular load monitoring and even give owners some flexibility in increasing or decreasing the size of their fleet. If the forklift load is less than 50% per week, leasing often becomes unprofitable. Buying or leasing forklifts is more economical if the machines are only lightly used, because the benefit of low maintenance costs is then apparent. If you want your forklift to be ready for work all the time, renting or full service is the best way for the owner and the supplier to work together, even if the forklift load is not very heavy.
Most manufacturers often prefer to rent or lease equipment in order to take advantage of the flexibility to improve fleet management and reduce capital tie-ups. Logistics processes are changing rapidly, so demand for flexible means of floor transportation is increasing all the time. Among the latest innovations is the TT Log System from BT, which improves fleet management by reading machine operating hours from the machine hour meter and transmitting them to the company's information system, which ensures that the machine utilization rate is determined automatically.
The standardization of indicators makes it possible for operators to compare the production offers of floor transport manufacturers and to include real data on operating costs alongside investment costs in their estimates. This makes it easier to prove that system solutions with higher investment costs are generally more economical.
For this reason, forklift truck manufacturers must ultimately come to a common and mutually acceptable agreement that clarifies the concept of loader operating times, otherwise it will be like the German proverb: "What cannot be measured, cannot be managed".
In order to examine this problem in detail, the Department for Transport Systems and Logistics at the University of Duisburg-Essen undertook a special project called "Application of Floor Handling Equipment". The aim of the study was to systematize the different methods of measuring the operating time of transport equipment and to assess what the consequences of their use might be in terms of various costs. The time during which a forklift truck is in use is recorded by an hour meter.
Accurate measurement of this value is very important because a parameter such as operating time is used in calculating regular payments in certain types of lease, rental or maintenance contracts, as well as in determining the residual value of transport equipment. If the duration of use is incorrectly determined, there is a potential danger to personnel, as it also affects the maintenance schedule of the forklift truck. The operating time also serves as the basis for calculating the number of transport equipment fleets in the plant.
Since equipment manufacturers use different methods for estimating the operating time of their equipment, at the moment there is no objective possibility for operators to compare them. A single concept based on one optimally chosen measurement parameter could be a way out of the situation. That is why many forklift truck manufacturers have shown a keen interest in this problem and have responded very positively to the survey carried out by the department. In the study of scientists were involved companies Atlet, Mitsubishi, BT, Сlark, Crown, Jungheinrich, Linde, Nissan, OM Kion Group, STILL, Toyota, Willecke, Yale and Hyster (Zeppelin).
It is known that the total cost of a forklift truck, calculated over its lifetime, consists of 20% of acquisition costs and 80% of production costs. Specific methods of measuring the duration of use of a forklift truck, which are used by the manufacturers, can not give sufficient information about its current state, resulting in less effective planning of maintenance and monitoring of its performance. The lack of objective criteria also increases equipment downtime and maintenance costs, making it difficult to compare and evaluate maintenance and other costs. Therefore, operators should be well aware of and consider the differences between the individual methods of measuring duration of use.
Determining the duration of use of floor transportation equipment is done in a variety of ways and depends on both the manufacturer and the form of the contract. For a forklift, the following criteria are commonly used:
- "on time" - the time the forklift is on (regardless of the nature of the use);
- "operating hours" - the number of hours (machine hours) during which at least one forklift engine operates;
- "driving hours" - the time of operation of the driving engine;
- "hoisting hours" - the operating time of the hoisting engine (if it is running);
- "operating hours of both engines" - the previous two indicators are added together (for a certain period of time);
- the number of pallets that the machine moves per 1 hour of operation.
The Most Cost-effective Solution
According to the survey, the consensus among the leading forklift truck manufacturers is that there are no standardized methods for measuring forklift usage today. This means that it's up to the forklift truck manufacturer to determine which of the above-mentioned parameters the hour meter shows for a particular forklift truck.
The basis for calculating the vehicle is the measurement of "operating hours", because this parameter is the optimal, most economically justified criterion for monitoring the level of operation of forklifts from the point of view of their owners (Fig. 1). Equipment manufacturers must deal with the problems that arise from different methods of measuring equipment usage in order to be able to better meet customer needs. They all regard the criteria "on-time" and "operating hours" as equivalent for equipment with an internal combustion engine, since the latter starts immediately when the machine is turned on.
The possibility of having different measurement methods from one manufacturer to another (Fig. 2) should be carefully studied by the operators, as it can have economic consequences for them. For example, when leasing a forklift truck for 1,000 hours of operation, different manufacturers may use different methods to measure that operation, so operators should first ask the manufacturers which measurement methods they use and agree on their positions.
If you choose the "operating hours" criterion, other methods of measuring operating time may result in significantly different costs per hour of operation. In the end, a situation may arise where "apples to pears" are compared. Using the "operating hours" criterion compared to other methods of measuring the "operating hours" or "turn-on time" criteria means that the intervals between maintenance sessions will become longer, and therefore the overall service costs will be reduced.
However, even if the cost per 1,000 production hours is the same for all manufacturers, the actual cost to consumers can vary greatly. This means that although the hourly cost of operating different machines will be the same for the consumer, the costs for a forklift whose meter measures "on time" will "click" faster. Thus, if the contract for the operation of the forklift truck over 1000 hours, the cost of its maintenance on the basis of the "on time" criterion would be 7,540 euros, and in the case of the "working hours" criterion it would be only 2,000 euros.
For a forklift truck operating in a picking yard, the difference in costs according to the different measurement methods can be clearly explained with the help of a graph (Fig. 3). In the survey, a third of the forklift truck manufacturers analyzed the measurement methods for the duration of use of their equipment and their impact on cost levels. In most cases, they pre-set methods of measuring operating time to customers and guarantee machine life of 10,000 to 15,000 operating hours.
It is accepted that a forklift truck has an economically justifiable life span of about eight years, with an average load of 60%. A more accurate lifespan varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and the difference in maintenance costs for the companies surveyed was 40 percent.
The United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM) shows that the average service life of industrial forklifts in the United States is 11,200 hours (as of June 30, 2003). Another independent survey of 500 firms found that only 6% of those surveyed knew the hourly maintenance cost per forklift in their fleet, and 25% of companies had an information system that logged what personnel and parts were needed to keep a forklift working properly. Over the past five years, the price of each new forklift has increased by 6...8%, and over the same period the price of spare parts and repair costs have increased by 18...22%. Maintenance costs per production hour are increasing annually by 14 to 18%.
Trends & Conclusions
Good fleet management can continuously reduce the total cost of material flows and increase productivity. It is difficult to overestimate the contribution that correct recording of the data from the machine hour meters makes to it: they provide reliable information for making decisions on the selection of the optimal fleet size, help to achieve maximum productivity and reduce downtime.
Financially, rental agreements allow for regular load monitoring and even give owners some flexibility in increasing or decreasing the size of their fleet. If the forklift load is less than 50% per week, leasing often becomes unprofitable. Buying or leasing forklifts is more economical if the machines are only lightly used, because the benefit of low maintenance costs is then apparent. If you want your forklift to be ready for work all the time, renting or full service is the best way for the owner and the supplier to work together, even if the forklift load is not very heavy.
Most manufacturers often prefer to rent or lease equipment in order to take advantage of the flexibility to improve fleet management and reduce capital tie-ups. Logistics processes are changing rapidly, so demand for flexible means of floor transportation is increasing all the time. Among the latest innovations is the TT Log System from BT, which improves fleet management by reading machine operating hours from the machine hour meter and transmitting them to the company's information system, which ensures that the machine utilization rate is determined automatically.
The standardization of indicators makes it possible for operators to compare the production offers of floor transport manufacturers and to include real data on operating costs alongside investment costs in their estimates. This makes it easier to prove that system solutions with higher investment costs are generally more economical.
For this reason, forklift truck manufacturers must ultimately come to a common and mutually acceptable agreement that clarifies the concept of loader operating times, otherwise it will be like the German proverb: "What cannot be measured, cannot be managed".
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