Why is it Important to Measure Forklift Utilization Rate?

While forklifts are an important cost item for every industrial enterprise, underutilized forklifts create a waste of financial resources. The only way to prevent this waste is to get the fleet size right.

Before adjusting the fleet size, it is necessary to know more about the use of each individual forklift. How long during the day is the truck working, moving or carrying loads? How much idle time is spent? Is there a difference between operators in terms of idle time and movement time? How often and with what accuracy are all these times measured?

Unproductive idle time is one of the biggest financial losses for the business. It is also the most difficult to track.

Forkwise gives businesses visibility into all forklifts. This enables its use to improve processes, increase productivity and identify operational anomalies.

Below are three key benefits of monitoring forklift use:

1) Utilization: Drive time versus idle time

One of the main benefits of monitoring forklift use is to review idle time and drive time.

This information is crucial for understanding how the business uses its resources. For example, if it is noticed that forklifts are idle for long periods of time, is this idle time related to the process or something else?

Alternatively, driving time can be examined in the same way. Are operators taking the most direct routes or are they taking longer routes to move goods from point A to point B? Reviewing this information on a regular basis can help make more informed decisions about forklifts and use resources effectively.

2) Right-Sized Fleet    

Monitoring forklift usage can also help you save money. This data will reveal whether you have the right sized fleet or whether the number of forklifts in the department needs to be reduced or relocated.

Realizing that forklifts have been idle for long periods of time or that a large number of forklifts are not being used, allows the fleet to be downsized or moved to another warehouse for more efficient use. This ensures the best use of resources at zero cost without new leasing or purchasing.

3) Process anomaly detection

Regular monitoring and in-depth analysis of forklift usage can help to understand where improvements can be made in the process or overall warehouse flow.

This data is valuable for understanding productivity levels in businesses.

If forklifts are seen to be used for only a short period of time, it is worth considering revisiting processes to put them to better use. Equally, it may be worth considering removing them from your inventory as part of a leasing or purchasing program.

As a result, by accurately measuring and analyzing forklift usage data, idle times can be reduced and resource utilization optimized. This means that businesses can realize significant financial savings.