SIMPLE STEPS TO CONTROLLING FORKLIFT SPEED

1 SIMPLE STEPS TO CONTROLLING FORKLIFT SPEED Telling FORKLIFT operators to slow down and continually reminding them to use reasonable speeds are great ways to promote safer FORKLIFT operations, but sometimes this is just not enough. Depending on the year, there are 85-100 fatalities on forklifts each year in the Many FORKLIFT operators and their companies are running at frantic paces. FORKLIFT operators hurry to complete their jobs and companies many times encourage them to keep up. If FORKLIFT SPEED is a serious issue at your facility, and you have already done all that you can do from a training and management standpoint, you will want to read and follow the STEPS below to get it under control. Buying a SPEED monitoring or CONTROLLING system for your forklifts is not as easy as saying get me a quote on fifteen of them.

2 If you buy your system in that manner you will likely get you the wrong system, the wrong price, almost no support after the sale and your system is likely to fail. Over the years, we have learned the proper STEPS to helping customers find the right system; they are listed below to help you during your project. step 1: GATHER YOUR TEAM If you are a small company this may be only a few people, in larger companies it may be ten or more people. Titles of people that need to be involved and why are below: 9 Plant Manger/Operations Manager or VP of Operations: Without approval from this level your system will never get off the ground. This person needs to understand the reasons your team is considering a system and back you up, or else your work will be for nothing.

3 Systems are likely to be a capital expenditure so this person will need to include your team s recommendations into their budgets and ultimately the money the system saves, and the safety it provides the facility, can very positively impact their bottom line. 9 Safety Manager: The safety manager and his department will benefit tremendously from putting a system in place, if run properly and to its full capabilities; it will have a dramatic impact on compliance and accidents/near misses. The safety manager should also be able to gather substantial information on how to cost justify a system. 9 Production Manager: This person should be involved so they understand the effects it will have on their production. Monitoring or CONTROLLING SPEED will actually have little to no impact on FORKLIFT operator s production, but the fear it will slow the pace to unacceptable levels can kill your project if you don t deal with these objections up front.

4 9 Maintenance Manager: Besides the safety manager, the maintenance manager should also be excited about securing a system. The systems have benefits for their department and their documentation of past damage to your plant, the forklifts and your products, will be vital to cost justifying the system. step 2: IDENTIFY YOUR PROBLEMS You may have heard the saying, If you don t know where you are going, any road can get you there. This is very true when looking at monitoring or CONTROLLING FORKLIFT SPEED . Think about why you are interested in a SPEED monitoring or control solution and what you want out of it. You need to be able to clearly define your objectives and intentions up front. Examples of things companies may want out of their system: Monitor or control FORKLIFT SPEED Set a plant or area SPEED limit Comply with SPEED policies set by corporate offices Reduce damage to their physical facility Reduce damage to their forklifts Reduce damage to their products Improve the level of safety among FORKLIFT operators and pedestrians Reduce accidents, injuries and near miss incidents Identify speeding FORKLIFT operators Keep OSHA satisfied.

5 And You must determine your must have needs from your that would be cool, wants. We may all want a Ferrari, but a Chevy may do the job at a price we can actually afford and might be able to justify buying. step 3: PICK YOUR OPTION: The decision to monitor SPEED and warn of speeding, or to fully control top SPEED is a critical decision. Initially, everyone picks full SPEED control, but when you look at the true costs versus rewards, it may not be the right solution for many applications. What is the difference? Option 1: SPEED Monitoring and Warning Systems This is the best solution for most applications in our opinion. It is SIMPLE to specify for any sit down rider, will work on all fuel types and is a cost effective solution to a major problem. For under $700 a unit (parts), plus several hours of labor you can provide your operators with a speedometer that will tell them exactly how fast they are going (in mph or kph) and you can set the system to warn them they are approaching your SPEED limit.

6 If they choose to exceed the limit you can create warnings that will flash lights and/or set off sirens so loud they won t SPEED for very long or do it very often! Option 2: Full SPEED control This is the solution for the hard core facility, one where training, management enforcement, lights and even blaring sirens just won t stop the excessive speeding. If this is your type of facility, there is still a solution for you, but it will be more complex and expensive to propose and implement. The SPEED control systems will give you very precise control over top SPEED without impacting your hydraulic lift speeds or engine torque. Because of the wide variety of control systems among the FORKLIFT manufacturers and because most fleets are usually made up of several different manufacturers, proposing a solution involves gathering a wide range of information on your fleet and likely having several solutions for various models.

7 Be prepared to spend $1,100 to $1,500 (parts) plus 4-6 hours per unit to install the devices. step 4: CALCULATE POTENTIAL SAVINGS Without proper cost justification and good return on investment calculations, most facilities will never be able to purchase a system. Take a look over the last year or two and see what you can document, estimate the rest. Your safety department and the companies that sell you rack or forklifts should be able to give you accident data/costs and damage estimates. 9 How much could you save in terms of improved safety, reduced accidents and incidents? These can be hard to estimate, but try. Avoiding one serious injury or a lawsuit would pay for a fleet of SPEED related devices! 9 How much do we spend on repairing our building after damage by forklifts (dock plates, building columns, walls, rack, etc?)

8 9 How much do we spend on accidental damage to our forklifts , beyond normal repairs? 9 How much do we lose on product damage caused by handling with forklifts ? Don t discount this part, we had one company that backed into their damage estimates by estimating the number of damaged products per day and found they were costing the company over one million dollars each year! They had no idea it was that much, but it certainly helped in the justification process. 9 Other things you save on which are unique to your forklifts or facility? step 5: CONTACT US We are familiar with the two systems on the market today, we know their features, we understand what support is available after the sale and we understand the pricing. We can help keep your team from wasting a lot of time talking with people that don t know what they are selling; we get calls all the time from dealers wanting us to help them with SPEED control for their customers.

9 We work with both major manufacturers of SPEED devices and have great working relationships with them. We also know their support teams so we can make sure your project gets the attention and pricing you deserve. We don t have a vested interest in guiding your team to one system over another since we handle them both. step 6: CONFERENCE CALL WITH YOUR TEAM Once we have narrowed down which option you would like to pursue and what solution you would like to use, we can set up a conference call with your team and that manufacturer to fully address their capabilities and to answer any questions you team might have. If the call goes well, and your team is interested in getting a proposal on a system, we can obtain enough information during the call to generate a proposal.

10 If your team decides not to pursue a system there is no obligation on your part. step 7: PROPOSAL AND DEMO We can generate a customized proposal for your facility. Both manufacturers have trial offers for one unit if you need to go that route. You would issue FORKLIFT Training Systems a PO for one unit, and then try the unit for 30 days. At the end of thirty days you either pay the invoice or return your unit in like new condition to the manufacturer and cancel the PO. step 8: PURCHASE AND IMPLEMENTATION Once you gain approval and purchase your entire system it is an exciting time, but the work is not over. Instructions on how to install your system, including wiring diagrams, are included with each system from both manufacturers and you may chose in install them in-house or use a local FORKLIFT dealer.