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formal “power study.” In this weeks-long
exercise, her company installs an elec-
tronic meter that logs current, voltage,
cumulative charge and discharge amp-
hours and watt-hours, temperature, and
cellular-service quality on a representative
cross-section of the customer’s electric
trucks. From that information, she says,
“we’re able to understand the true power
consumption in a customer’s application
... and design the optimal energy solution,
truck model by truck model.”
The “where are we now?” assessment
should also include feedback from oper-
ators, supervisors, and maintenance per-
sonnel on what their current pain points
are and what they like and don’t like
about the existing power method(s).
STEP 3. CONSIDER POTENTIAL
IMPACTS
With a picture of the operation’s current
state in hand, the team can then investigate what changes a new power source
would bring. There are so many factors
to consider that it’s impossible to include
them all in this article. Here are some of
the main ones:
b Fueling/charging. It takes time to
refuel, recharge, or swap out equipment
(such as batteries and LP tanks), so it’s
important to consider how the choice of
power method will affect productivity.
For example, batteries tend to lose power
toward the end of their power cycle,
causing trucks to operate more slowly,
while liquids and gases generally maintain
steady power levels until they run out. It
may be necessary in some cases to allow
extra time for refueling or recharging.
Barrett cites the example of switching
to sit-down electrics that will be oppor-tunity-charged during meals and breaks.
The multiple steps required to access the
charging port and to put the truck back
together before returning to the floor
can eat up one-third of an operator’s
15-minute break period, he says; a long
walk from the charging or fueling area to
the break room will further cut into break
or meal time.
b Work environment. The various
motive-power methods have different
advantages and drawbacks in regard to
things like consistency of power output,
how they perform with high or heavy
lifts, and how they react to tempera-
ture. They also influence the size
and design of the trucks. As a result,
the application design—lifting, floor
stacking, aisle width, pallet types,
turning space, loading dock configu-
ration, dirt/cleanliness, and more—
could restrict the power choice.
Hansen recommends a careful
An example of the latter would be
