The Best Return on Investments You Can Make on Forklifts

Everybody’s talking about ROI (Return on Investment) these days. We have to, because small mistakes can have big consequences in today’s business climate. While executives at GM may be weighing the cost benefits of investing in robotics, the rest of us need to weigh the benefits versus the costs of far less expensive investments. If you own a forklift or have a fleet of forklifts, some of the cheapest investments you can make are in forklift accessories, but are they the best investments you can make? That depends on their ROI.

The ROI of any forklift attachment or accessory depends on 3 things:

1. Usefulness: Is a forklift accessory useful to me?
2. Efficiency: Will a forklift attachment enable me to work more efficiently?
3. Productivity: Will a lift truck accessory or attachment improve productivity?

If the answer to all 3 of these questions is “Yes”, then it is definitely an investment worth making. If not, you may want to rethink your priorities. Let’s take a look at forklift drum attachments, for example.

Is it useful? Is it efficient? Does it enhance productivity?

If you have a forklift and there are drums in your workplace, buying a drum attachment makes sense. Or does it? Yes, it will be useful, but how useful will it be? If you just have a drum or 2 that only need handling when they are empty and need replacing, the drum attachment will not significantly improve efficiency or productivity in your workplace. If regular drum handling is part of your day-to-day operations, though, it will make your workplace more efficient and improve productivity.

What about a forklift accessory that on the surface has nothing to do with productivity. Take a sweeper attachment, for example. It will definitely be useful and is far more efficient than manually sweeping the floor, but how does it improve productivity. It can do this in 2 important ways:

1. If workers are continually having to clean up after themselves, they are being diverted from their more productive tasks.
2. Studies have shown that working in a clean environment enhances both productivity and quality of work.

On the surface, forklift safety products may not seem to offer good returns on investment, but are in fact some of the best investments you can make:

• Because safety signs alert workers and visitors of possible dangers, they are useful.
• If a safety sign helps improve the flow of traffic, it improves efficiency in the workplace.
• If a safety sign prevents a single accident, however minor, it more than pays for itself in preventing a slowdown in productivity.

Does a forklift accessory like this offer a good ROI?

Have you been thinking about buying a forklift attachment or accessory, but wondering whether or not it’s worth the investment? An easy way to find out is to ask yourself how often it will be used and how much money it will save you each time you use it. For example, how often do you have to add water to your forklift batteries? Would an automatic watering system offer a good ROI over time? Only you know the answer, but you may be surprised by how often the answer will be “Yes.” That’s what forklift accessories are for, after all: to save you time and money.