Why Should I Track the Utilization Rate of My Forklift Fleet?

Is the breakdown of your forklifts a recurring problem? Are your forklifts in constant need of maintenance? Your fleet may be overused!

On the contrary, do you have forklifts sitting idle for weeks? In this case, you may have more vehicles in your fleet than you need!

The only way to get your fleet size right and optimize your investment costs is to constantly monitor the utilization rates of your forklift fleet.

How to Determine Forklift Usage Rate?

Monitoring forklift utilization does not require complex formulas or handwritten utilization reports that are too prone to human error. With the help of Forkwise, a fleet manager can automatically track the utilization rate of their fleet at all times. Monitoring and acting on current utilization information can help fleet managers efficiently utilize assets and control costs associated with equipment wear and tear.

Fleet managers often want to view forklift utilization metrics on an hourly / daily/ weekly / monthly basis. Forkwise provides detailed data analytics for forklift managers with this flexibility.

Search for Outliers

As a fleet manager, you must constantly monitor outliers, even if your overall fleet utilization looks great. A day or shift where one forklift is used much more than the rest of your forklifts may not cause a problem when it happens exceptionally, but if it creates a pattern, you should pay attention to it.

For example; let's imagine that 2 forklifts are outliers in your fleet where the average utilization rate of your 15 forklifts is 60%. One has a utilization rate of 95% while the other has a utilization rate of 5%. This scenario requires a detailed analysis.

Compare Peak and Off-Peak Uses

As a fleet manager, you should track forklift utilization rates during both peak and off-peak periods to determine the right size fleet. If your peak periods last 1-2 months each year, you don't want to have a fleet that is suitable for the peak season. In this case, it is often more cost-effective to have the appropriate number of forklifts for your off-peak season and supplement with rental equipment during the peak period.

Which Utilization Rate Should I Target as a Fleet Manager?

It may be ideal for a fleet to consistently achieve 100% utilization, but this is not realistic. A fleet manager should think of fleet utilization as a metric that can be continuously improved rather than a specific number to be achieved. The first step is to find out what your current utilization actually is and know if you can run your operations in an acceptable way with the current structure.

How Can I Increase My Fleet Utilization Rate?

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to increase fleet utilization. The fix depends on the problem. If your entire fleet is overworked, it's time to add one or two new forklifts to your operation. If you have a forklift that no one is using but your fleet utilization rate is generally good, it may be time to retire it or investigate why it is not being operated. If your fleet utilization is high during peak season but extremely low for most of the year, it may be time to sell part of your fleet to recover some of that capital.

Forkwise - Forklift Truck Productivity and Tracking platform provides you with the fleet utilization rate measurements you need on a continuous basis, and thanks to its easy-to-use interface, it offers you data analytics for your fleet in the detail and flexibility you desire. In this way, it allows you to reach maximum efficiency.