Fleet Telematics Leads To Improved Forklift Operation

A fairly new technology has grasped the warehouse trade. It’s called Telematics and it is designed to assist fleet managers to improve forklift operations.

Fleet telematics merges telecommunications with informatics. It gathers data about the use of remote forklifts, trucks and vehicles and transmits the data over a cellular network so that fleet managers can monitor their fleet.

The technology is designed to allow fleet managers to log in through a computer or mobile device like a smartphone and receive an overview of their entire fleet of vehicles. The overview is based on the data collected and reported.

The technology uses GPS to track the vehicle. It also monitors fuel consumption, driving habits, the vehicle’s speed and create maintenance schedules.

The data gathered can be used to improve efficiency, boost productivity, reduce operating costs, and ensure safety of driver behavior.

Fleet Telematics Enhances Forklift Use

Although the technology has been around for a while, telematics is beginning to be used more widely in monitoring forklift operations in warehouse settings.

The technology assists fleet managers to reduce overall costs by using the gathered data.

The benefits of fleet telematics can be seen whether you use a small or large fleet of forklifts. It’s impact, however, is greater when used to monitor larger fleets. That’s because it allows a fleet manager to monitor tens, hundreds, or even thousands of forklifts spread across a wide area. It keeps track of all battery charging needs, driver behavior and maintenance, which would be next to impossible without its use.

When telematics is used to monitor lithium-ion battery-powered forklifts, that system can determine and notify management that batteries need charging. The location data supplied by the system allows fleet managers to optimize a warehouse operation.

To make the system ideal for use, fleet managers need to know what kind of data needs to be gathered to assist them in making decisions about their fleets. Communications with the IT, finance, operations and maintenance departments can help determine what data should be sought and how to interpret it.

It is suggested that warehouses new to the technology should start small focusing on basic areas of measurement and then increase capability as the staff widens its understanding of the technology.

(Source: forkliftaction.com)