BY TOBY GOOLEY, MANAGING EDITOR
BATTERIES AND CHARGERS
materialhandlingupdate
room for
improvement
A poorly designed or managed lift-truck
battery changing room could cost you
money and create safety risks. Here are
some tips on how to get it right.
KABOOM!!! THAT’S THE SOUND OF AN EXPLOSION, OR
perhaps of a 3,000-pound lead-acid battery hitting the floor—
either way, it’s something you definitely don’t want to hear in
your warehouse or DC. But that’s a distinct possibility if your
lift-truck battery changing room is improperly designed or
managed.
Not only can a poorly run battery room pose a safety threat,
but it can also be a drain on productivity and your budget. A
badly designed operation can lead to congestion and delays,
improperly rotated batteries, and costly fines for failure to comply with safety regulations.
We asked some lift-truck and industrial battery experts what
advice they give their customers about battery room best practices. Here are some of their “dos and don’ts.”
Where, and how big?
Although battery changing and charging rooms are often relegated to a back corner of the warehouse, that’s probably not the
optimal location. It’s better to locate them closer to where vehicles are used so drivers don’t waste time traveling from work
areas to the battery room, says Drew Stump, service marketing
manager for EnerSys, a global battery manufacturer whose
brands include the Douglas, Hawker, EnerSys Ironclad, and
General lines. In a very large DC, it may make sense to have a
second battery room for, say, pallet jacks, if they are used on the
opposite side of the building from vehicles like counterbalanced
forklifts, he adds.
Make sure the location has adequate electrical service, keeping
in mind that power distribution costs increase with the distance
from the main power feed, say the experts at Battery Handling
