A forklift is an important asset for your warehouse or commercial facility when it comes to moving stock from one place to another across the premises. However, work can quickly go up and you might be wondering if you need an additional forklift.
But how to tell that you really need a forklift?
After all, buying a forklift is a major financial decision, therefore should be taken wisely. Here we have come up with some reasons to help you find if you need an additional forklift.
You are not Able to Meet Increased Demand:
If your business is not able to keep up with the ever-increasing demand, it might be a sign for you to bring in another forklift. Maybe you are getting more orders. Or your clients have increased their demands. Whatever the reason is, if your workers are not meeting deadlines and meeting their orders promptly, then there might be a problem.
By buying an extra forklift, you can efficiently manage the workload and take the pressure off your people and existing forklifts.
Problems in Older Forklifts:
If you have started noticing that your older forklifts are not performing and are likely to break down under the increased workloads, then it might be a sign to buy another forklift.
From acceleration issues, and leaking fluid to worn-out tires, many problems are impacting the performance of your forklift. Therefore, investing in an additional forklift can benefit you in the long run.
Reduced Efficiency:
Advanced forklifts are equipped with sophisticated technologies that can help you get more work done in a shorter frame of time.
For instance, electric forklift models generally come with better acceleration speeds and don’t need to stop completely during a change in direction. This way, you can store, lift and retrieve products a lot faster.
Maintenance Costs are on the Rise:
If your maintenance and repair costs are out of control, it may be time to buy or rent a newer forklift. The reason for this is that all devices need maintenance, but frequent, severe problems are not something you should get used to.
This will not only result in expensive delays that reduce efficiency, but the technician fees will also be costly to you financially. If you keep a close eye on maintenance expenditures, you can decide whether or not it’s time to make another investment.
Experiencing Safety Issues:
You cannot afford to compromise your safety. Make sure to consider your option as soon as you experience safety problems in your forklifts that are beyond your control. You never know when the oils or engine lubricants lead to hazards if they get on the floors of your factory or warehouse. It will put the lives of your operators, staff, and other people at risk.
Forklifts should go through routine inspections as part of your safety and planned maintenance routines.
Finding obvious fractures while evaluating your lift truck is one indication that you might need to repair it. Additionally, make sure the forks don’t have any noticeable wear or deformation. You may need to get a replacement if there is any exposed wiring, hydraulics that is dripping or lose cables.
When You Need to Work for More Hours:
This milestone appears to be the industry norm, though it is not a hard-and-fast rule.
This is most likely because it is the point at which the benefits of repair tend to balance the expenses. A cost-per-hour analysis can assist decide if that is the case; when you take into account the true costs of downtime, the cheaper maintenance, and repair costs of a new or gently used device may be worth the investment.
So you must have understood the scenarios when you need to buy an additional forklift. What do you think? Let us know by commenting below!
