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Fork Lift Replacement
There are several rules of thumb used to decide when to replace your lift truck or fleet of trucks based on Optimum Economic Lifecycles.
Replace forklifts by calendar
Replace forklifts and lift trucks at a predetermined number of years or months. Leasing equipment is an excellent way to implement a fleet management program. Leasing your equipment requires you to make a decision at the end of the lease on replacing the truck or fleet and releasing newer equipment. There are many more benefits tied to leasing equipment that can make this method more attractive to customers and should be fully explored before making the decision to purchase outright.
Replace forklifts by operating hours
Replace units at a predetermined operating hour interval. Many customers use 10,000 hours as a rule of thumb for their replacement criteria. This method is suitable for customers who have identified utilization patterns and have researched and adhere to a strict replacement policy of replacing units that have reached the pre-determined operating hour guideline. This method should carefully evaluate as the nature of your specific application may dictate more or less hours for replacement criteria. There are some applications due to severity or utilization that may find 10,000 hours to be too high, while other applications my find that 12,000 hours could better suit their needs.
Replace forklifts based on cost/value analysis
The third criteria may be the best solution by far but it is also the most difficult to achieve. This method is replacing units when annual maintenance costs equal or exceed the resale value of the equipment or simply put, when the cost of maintenance per unit drives the ownership cost. What makes this method the best is that it give the decision maker true justification when making replacement evaluations for each piece of equipment. What makes it the most difficult is that it takes information to make decisions and not everyone has the tools, the time or more importantly the discipline to gather the information.
This is where the Trained Professional Fleet Management Team can provide value added expertise. With the right commitment from the customer to gain better control over their lift truck fleet and associated costs. MEE can provide the tools and know how to help customers make the right decision regarding:
- Replacing Forklifts and Lift Trucks
- Rightsizing Fleets
- Increasing Utilization
- Proper Maintenance
- Controlling Costs
- Training Initiatives
- Financing Alternatives
- Determining Rental Equipment Needs
Fleet management is not a one size fits all procedure that works the same for everyone. If is a time proven study that when properly implemented can help customers gain better control on costs associated with material handling. Let our trained professions get you on the right track.
