equipment
DC managers can start the process
of analyzing their fleets on their own,
particularly in small or single-site
operations. For bigger operations, it’s
a bit trickier. But there are places they
can turn for help. Most lift truck
OEMs offer fleet management services in addition to their equipment
lines. Independent fleet management
companies also provide services that
include fleet evaluations.
These companies offer a number
of suggestions on how to proceed
with evaluating the current fleet,
implementing changes to it, and
then keeping the fleet fine tuned. For
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example, John Russian, manager of fleet
marketing for Hyster Co., says his company suggests a five-step process that begins
with a survey of current operations, followed by analysis, proposing changes,
implementation, and monitoring results.
The first step sounds simple enough, but
taking a vehicle count can actually be
somewhat complicated for companies with
large fleets across multiple locations. Jason
Bratton, vice president of business development for BEB Fleet Source Group,
which helps clients evaluate their fleets and
implement fleet management strategies,
says that in order to get an accurate tally,
his company literally counts the vehicles in
a facility and then works with the customer’s dealer to see what’s on the books.
Russian says that along with determining the number of trucks in use, the
equipment audit should include a
detailed accounting of the vehicles’ age,
operating hours, make and model, and
aftermarket attachments. Other questions
to ask include: What equipment is owned,
what is leased, what is rented? What has
existing warranties? What equipment is
fully depreciated?
Critical, too, is information on the
number of operators and the configuration of the facility. And changes made in
the layout of the facility need to be understood. Does it have more narrow aisles,
for instance, or raised racks?
Russian also recommends gathering the
maintenance history for each truck in the
fleet. “The customer may have a total, but
not get granular,” he says. “We need a
good understanding of what is being
spent on a specific truck.”
The initial survey should also include a
careful look at how vehicles in the fleet are
actually being used. To help gather the
necessary data, several companies have
developed remote monitoring systems
that automatically collect, transmit, and
analyze data about vehicle performance
and productivity. Crown Equipment
Corp., for instance, offers a wireless fleet
management system that captures a variety of operational data from meters
installed on the trucks. Matt Ranly,
Crown’s senior marketing product manager, says the system provides detailed
information on how each truck is being
