Archive for the Case Study Category
Lift & Tilt Podcast – “Short Pour” Bonus Episode : Marijuana Legalization Ruins Floral Supply Chain
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Date: 3/16/20
Host: Robert Dennard & Kurt Guntner
Overview: Robert and Kurt share the story of Christina Stembel of Farmgirl Flowers, and how California’s legalization of recreational cannabis destroyed her supply chain.
Produced by LTS Studios, an in-house division of Lift Truck Supply, Inc. – a full-line provider of Toyota forklift equipment, service, parts and rentals. LTS – Your Forklift Accessory & Parts Headquarters
Mar16
Lift & Tilt Podcast – Episode 004 : Effects of the E-com Era on Supply Chains
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Date: 3/16/20
Host: Robert Dennard & Kurt Guntner
Overview: Robert and Kurt sample a citrus wheat beer from Community Beer Co. in Dallas, while discussing how the digital revolution is changing warehouses, distribution centers, and logistics. Supply chain processes, software, robotics, automation, real-estate, and personnel are being transformed to better meet customer demands as well as create greater efficiencies for organizations.
Topics Discussed
1) Doing More with Less
From going vertical with racking to increase storage capacity and open more floor space to employing artificial intelligence or machine learning software to increase efficiency of order fulfillment and inventory turn, e-commerce has forced companies to look for novel ways of efficiency.
2) Sustainable Solutions
The ability to reuse, recycle, or reclaim materials to minimize costs and appeal to eco-conscious buyers serves not only as a marketing function but creates margin in an ever increasingly competitive environment that is slashing profits.
3) Digital Development
Advanced inventory systems are using sophisticated algorithms to provide predictive insights into inventory movement. Paired with company websites, these inventory systems can analyze site traffic and predict SKU level demand spikes to reduce out of stock items.
4) Personnel
With increased reliance on sophisticated systems, robotics, and predictive forecasting, the need for more knowledge based personnel will continue to increase.
5) Real Estate and Geographics
As consumer demand for instant gratification continues to increase the ability to offer shorter delivery times at a lower cost has forced the need for more distribution centers strategically located to serve metro areas. In turn, real estate is at a premium for warehousing.
Source Articles:
Forbes | Logistics in the E-commerce Era
https://www.forbes.com/sites/betsyatkins/2019/05/06/logistics-in-the-e-commerce-era/#5814ae58574d
The Brew & Tasting Notes:
Community Beer Co. – Witbier
“Brewed traditionally using unmalted wheat as a base and lightly spice the kettle with freshly ground sweet and bitter orange peel and coriander seed. The hops are minimal, keeping the focus on the wheat, spices and the unique character contributed by authentic Belgian yeast strains, one of which originated from the same strain that Pierre brought across the Atlantic to America.”
Original Gravity: 12.8
Bitterness: 18 IBU
Alcohol Content (ABV): 5.2%
Produced by LTS Studios, an in-house division of Lift Truck Supply, Inc. – a full-line provider of Toyota forklift equipment, service, parts and rentals. LTS – Your Forklift Accessory & Parts Headquarters
Feb18
Lift & Tilt Podcast – Episode 003 : Ethical Supply Chains
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Date: 2/18/20
Host: Robert Dennard & Kurt Guntner
Overview: Robert and Kurt sip a chocolate milk stout from a local brewer while discussing ethical supply chains and their value to businesses. Does your company have a corporate responsibility to the communities in which it operates? Outsourced manufacturing and low supply chain visibility (labor practices, social injustice, and environmentally friendly practices) has become a much bigger topic for consumers and organizations alike.
Question & Answer from anonymous procurement professional.
1) The article alluded to corporate cost reductions being prioritized over social/ethical responsibility. How do managers at the upper echelon’s of organizations balance their sense of duty to business stakeholders with their responsibility of corporate citizenship?
I imagine it’s different, depending on the organization your work at, in terms of how they prioritize profitability over corporate citizenship. That being said, over the last few decades it’s become abundantly clear that social and ethical responsibilities can have a huge impact on a company’s bottom-line – whether that be due to sustainable practices like Starbucks C.A.F.E. program which ensures ethical and sustainable sourced coffee and being view positively by their customers while still being extremely profitable; to the cautionary tales like Nike in the late 90’s where their stock tumbled 40% and they lost 15% market share over unfair labor practices.
Ultimately, it comes down to the corporate culture of the organization, and understanding that we’re here to optimize the supply chain for all of the stake holders involved – customers, vendors, stock holders, employees, and the communities your business impacts.
2) Beyond ethical concerns about environment, health, and safety – how do companies weigh/protect against the potential theft/adoption of proprietary technology?
This is definitely topical with the current trade war between the U.S. and China. In the past the Chinese government has been very lax in policing and enforcing intellectual property rights and I think this falls right inline with an ethical supply chain discussion because companies need to know that the trade secrets that provide them differentiation or a competitive advantage aren’t being negated. Losing proprietary technology or other intellectual properties could mean that business stakeholders are impacted – lower stock prices, layoffs, or in some cases even national security.
It’s a very complex issue, and I think most companies are taking a wait and see approach, because most outsourcing is done in locations like China where the government has so much leverage that organizations have few options if they want access to sell in those markets.
3) For smaller organizations who may just be getting started in outsourced supply chains, what recommendations do you have for managing an ethical supply chain (vetting new suppliers, verifying compliance, etc.)?
Definitely think that every organization should start by building a vendor compliance document that focuses on labor (health, safety, wages), environmental (sustainability, safety, legal), and upstream compliance; meaning their vendors. Get a group of your organizations stake holders around a table and highlight issues that are important to your business or that could be potentially harmful and start drafting a document. Also, you should develop an SOP for vendor vetting and on boarding process to get the ball rolling. The most difficult part is probably in identifying a compliance regimen, whether it’s is an in-house department or an independent third-party to audit vendors, it’s necessary to ensure that suppliers maintain their commitments. Your organization should also consider how transparent they wish to be with their supply chain programs. Some companies, such as Patagonia, utilize their efforts in their marketing and openly list their suppliers on their website to act as a social check/balance for their suppliers.
Source Articles:
Forbes | Building Sustainable & Ethical Supply Chains
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dougguthrie/2012/03/09/building-sustainable-and-ethical-supply-chains/#20ddf5c44179
The Brew & Tasting Notes:
True Vine Brewing – Chocolate Milk Stout
“Aptly and creatively named “Chocolate Milk Stout”, this beer brings together the natural chocolate flavors of roasted malts, the silky smoothness of milk sugar, and the perfect sweetness of real chocolate.”
Original Gravity: 0
Bitterness: 40 IBU
Alcohol Content (ABV): 6.0%
Produced by LTS Studios, an in-house division of Lift Truck Supply, Inc. – a full-line provider of Toyota forklift equipment, service, parts and rentals. LTS – Your Forklift Accessory & Parts Headquarters
Jan27
Lift & Tilt Podcast – Episode 002 : Six Sigma & GE – A Cautionary Tale
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Date: 1/27/20
Host: Robert Dennard & Kurt Guntner
Overview: Robert and Kurt enjoy a Mexican style lager while discussing the history of Six Sigma, and how it shaped GE from the late ’90’s to current day. With expert testimony from Toyota’s National Manager of LEAN, Robert and Kurt look to understand how process management systems work and if they can help businesses outside the manufacturing industry. Join us to learn more about process management, and what can be gleaned from past successes and failures of a company like GE.
Question & Answer with Scott Redelman, National Manager LEAN – Toyota Material Handling
1) Given the history/example detailed in the article – do you think it’s possible to focus so heavily on a particular style of process management that it becomes a detriment to the organization?
That all depends. If the process management focus is a detriment to innovation, then maybe yes. In Toyota Lean Management, we are using TPS methodology – which is entirely focused on developing people to incrementally solve problems in their own process. This fosters a culture of continuous improvement rather than an event. It also relies on the creativity on the associates in the organization to solve the issues they face every day whereas often times the style of Six Sigma encourages the improvements to be conducted by the ‘experts’ – the black belts. TPS considers the people in the process to be the true experts in the process. If we value our associates as the experts, and put them in the position to solve problems they face every day, then the culture of improvement builds upon itself. This philosophy looks at management and skilled improvement folks as the culture builders. They don’t exist to solve all of the problems. Instead, management and improvement leaders exist to remove roadblocks in order to put the team in a position to win.
2) For companies that aren’t manufacturers, companies that are primarily service providers or retailers, do you think that the lean styles of management can have the same positive transformational effect that it’s had for manufacturers?
Absolutely yes. Lean applies to everything. Everything we do – at home and at work, in manufacturing, retail, whatever industry – is a process. Wherever there is a process, there’s a process that isn’t perfect that can be improved. Toyota has relationships with customers and contacts benchmarking TPS (Toyota’s lean culture and tools) from health care, military, logistics, accounting and of course service organizations. We even use the skills of lean to support continuous improvement in not for profits! You name it, lean can be applied. Successful lean transformations always begin and are sustained by the culture of respect for people’s work.
3) For companies that are thinking about implementing a process management style such as lean, agile, six sigma, etc. What advice would you have for them regarding implementation and potential pitfalls they should be aware.
First, you have to be ‘all in’. You have to trust the process over time. It can’t be flavor of the month – meaning the top of the organization has to understand the process takes time.
Second, it can’t all be about the KPI results. Instead, focus on the human capital development rather than cost savings. Successful lean cultures focus on singles and doubles (baseball metaphor). Home runs can come later as the organization develops.
Third, designation of ‘lean champions’ is critically important. Choose folks that are ‘servant leaders’ – people that look for how they can help other succeed. The champions don’t need to be leaders on the org chart, but they need to be leaders in the sense that others in the organization respect their approach and are willing to follow their lead.
Finally, pick the methodology that will work best within your organization and that your culture can sustain.
Source Articles:
Quartz at Work | Whatever Happened to Six Sigma
https://qz.com/work/1635960/whatever-happened-to-six-sigma/
The Brew & Tasting Notes:
Deep Ellum – Neato Bandito
“Neato is Deep Ellum’s interpretation of a Mexican-style lager. But Neato’s been working out and is stronger than the others! Light in color, but big in flavor, Neato Bandito wants to help you enjoy all of your summertime activities! Viva la RAZA!”
Original Gravity: 0
Bitterness: 18 IBU
Alcohol Content (ABV): 6.0%
Produced by LTS Studios, an in-house division of Lift Truck Supply, Inc. – a full-line provider of Toyota forklift equipment, service, parts and rentals. LTS – Your Forklift Accessory & Parts Headquarters
Jan09
Lift & Tilt Podcast – Episode 001 : Automation & The Human Element
Subscribe on iTunes or Google Play
Date: 1/1/20
Host: Robert Dennard & Kurt Guntner
Overview: Robert and Kurt discuss the ethical concerns regarding automation raised in the Vox article – Robots Aren’t Taking Warehouse Employees’ Jobs, They’re MakingTheir Work Harder. With input from automation experts from Stocked Robotics, Plaskolite, and Toyota Material Handling our hosts attempt to look at the issues from all perspectives – offering warehouse operators and manufacturers key take-aways on how to avoid common operation/labor/public relations pitfalls when implementing automation equipment.
Source Articles:
VOX | Robots Aren’t Taking Warehouse Employees’ Jobs, They’re Making Their Work Harder
https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/10/22/20925894/robots-warehouse-jobs-automation-replace-workers-amazon-report-university-illinois
Fast Company | At Toyota, The Automation is Human Powered
https://www.fastcompany.com/40461624/how-toyota-is-putting-humans-first-in-an-era-of-increasing-automation
The Brew & Tasting Notes:
Saint Arnold – Ye Olde Christmas Ale
A rich, copper colored, hearty ale perfect for the holiday season with a malty sweetness and spicy hop character. The generous use of five different malts is responsible for the full flavor and high alcohol level of this beer.
Saint Arnold Christmas Ale is best consumed at 45° Fahrenheit.
Recommended pairings: Fruit cake, Christmas pudding, & squash bisque.
Original Gravity: 1.067 (17.0° Plato)
Bitterness: 24 IBU
Alcohol Content (ABV): 7.5%
Produced by LTS Studios, an in-house division of Lift Truck Supply, Inc. – a full-line provider of Toyota forklift equipment, service, parts and rentals. LTS – Your Forklift Accessory & Parts Headquarters
Aug20
00:28 Speaker 1: This is a dual, full layer robotic palletizer in which it takes two product lines, moves ’em both, then creates full layers on each product, and then the robot will actually take full layers and drop ’em off onto the pallets.
00:46 Speaker 2: The customer came to us. The issue is needing to palletize in a small area with multiple products. So this solution provides the ability to palletize two different products and two different lines in a very small footprint.
01:01 Speaker 1: Cases come into the system on an existing conveyor system. We immediately gap them with a meter-spacer conveyor. And once the cases are gapped, we use an interlock selective turner to orient the cases, either narrow-side leading or wide-side leading. At that point we form rows, we push individual rows onto a intermediate layer table. Once we form an entire layer, we push the entire layer onto a full layer end of arm tool. The end of arm tool is a roller bed that retracts out to strip the layer onto the pallet. We build full layers on CDLR conveyor and discharged onto a shuttle car, which takes it to an existing stretch wrapper. The overall system output of this one is 45 cases per minute.
01:40 Speaker 1: One of the key technologies in this is the very complicated control system on this one here, this system uses a lot of photo eyes to monitor the position of all the boxes and the placement of the boxes as they move through the dual layer palletizer. The controls will actually help to create the full layer and then let the robot know that it’s ready to pick up a layer to move it onto the pallet.
02:01 Speaker 2: Because we’ve integrated all this stuff into a single GuardLogix platform, the customer needs one software package to maintain this system from a controls perspective, and because it’s on Ethernet, they can access the controller within their plant network, they can see the status of the devices because they’re on Ethernet also. So they have a high-level of visibility into the system.
02:22 Speaker 1: The key technologies in this project were the FANUC M-410 450-kg robot. We needed to go to the 450-kg robot due to the layer weights and the tool size. The end of arm tool is the most important part of this project. It is a full layer design that accommodates either narrow-side layers or wide-side layers due to spacing requirements, gathering requirements on the layer. Additionally, we have two-layer formers that are mounted on top of each other. That was a key design part of this project to minimize the amount of floor space required to palletize these cases.
For more information contact us at:
Lift Truck Supply
T:1.800.873.1828
E: marketing@lifttrucksupplyinc.com
F: Contact Page
Be sure to share with #ForkliftHeadquarters
Aug20
00:01 Speaker 1: We’re in Park City just outside Wichita, which is considered the air capital of the world. We’ve had a lot of airplane manufacturers here: Boeing, Spirit. A lot of airplane history in the Wichita area.
00:13 Speaker 2: We warehouse aluminium, we do cut it all down to size, and we send it out to any customer out in the world, which right now we have several hundred of them. We have 26 forklifts, they are constantly running. We’ve even had to create part of our warehouse, what we call the highway, and it’s specifically developed for forklift travel.
00:31 Speaker 1: A couple of years ago we’d come in and there’d be two or three forklifts in the shop, some of them would need some extensive repairs. Last year, we started bringing in these Toyotas, forklifts in the shop, very reliable forklifts.
00:42 Speaker 2: We’ve noticed a dramatic drop in what we’re spending on forklift repairs, which ultimately hits the bottom line if you’re able to save a lot of money by utilizing the T-Matics system.
00:53 Speaker 3: The T-Matics system gives the operations the ability to have that end-to-end experience knowing exactly which operator is on the forklifts, and they understand what’s going on from the minute that person logs into the lift to the minute they log off of that lift.
01:07 Speaker 1: Before an operator can start it, he has to check various points that we decide, and if he comes across something that’s not right it’ll lock the forklift down until maintenance comes, looks at it, fixes it, and then puts it back into service. T-Matics report, I can look at that, I can see how the operators are doing, and I can hold them accountable for the impacts that they’ve caused or their driving or, on the other hand, I can praise them for driving well.
01:31 Speaker 4: Whenever we have people not following those best practices, we’re able to look at it as, is it a process, is it an area, is it a specific truck, or is it a specific employee?
01:42 Speaker 1: We spend a lot more time working on our machines, a lot less time working on the forklifts. Overall the Toyota T-Matics system makes our job a lot easier in maintenance.
01:51 Speaker 3: It’s exciting for Toyota and T-Matics to work with partners like ThyssenKrupp to be able to supply the aerospace industry.
01:58 Speaker 4: At the end of the day, it’s great to work at a place that, no matter how small, what we do here affects the bigger picture and puts planes in the air for the people flying them every day.
For more information contact us at:
Lift Truck Supply
T:1.800.873.1828
E: marketing@lifttrucksupplyinc.com
F: Contact Page
Be sure to share with #ForkliftHeadquarters
Aug20
00:05 Speaker 1: So Newell Brands is a consumer goods powerhouse. It’s mostly consumer goods, such as Rubbermaid, Rubbermaid Commercial, Sharpie markers, PaperMate pens, Calphalon cookware, and the Mr. Coffee.
00:16 Speaker 2: Here at the Rubbermaid facility in Ohio, we were assembling all the kits on a box line. Basically, the box line was a 100-foot long conveyor with anywhere from 15 to 20 operators.
00:29 Speaker 1: The overall facility is 850,000 square feet, of which 500,000 is manufacturing and 300,000 is warehouse.
00:38 Speaker 2: The major challenge we were trying to solve with the robotic automation was gaining productivity with packing up these set boxes.
00:50 Speaker 1: The system will help us serve our customers by hopefully improve our margin. Approximately 80% of our set volume will be able to be processed by this robotic cell, and shipping a more accurate product to the customer, which is the most important thing.
01:04 Speaker 2: We wanted to improve on the ergonomics. We also wanted to improve on our quality.
01:09 Speaker 1: Along with our cost of failure metrics, one of our biggest components is how many parts we put in a box. We’re hoping with the accuracy of the cell, we’ll be able to improve that going forward.
01:21 Speaker 2: We decided to work with Bastian Robotics because their project management team was very knowledgeable of our business, our products. They put a lot of time and effort into understanding what our needs were.
01:33 Speaker 1: The parts are made in injection molding in this facility. So we mold the parts here, then we store the parts in the warehouse, from the warehouse are moved to our pack and assembly operation within the same warehouse. The different product lines will be EFLs, as we call our Easy Find Lids, it’s where the lid attaches to the base. They’re more of a thicker part, more of a durable product. We also do TakeAlongs, the very thin-walled product and more of a disposable product. Both those will be processed on this line.
01:58 Speaker 3: Once they get conveyed into the system, we have a special device called the denesting device. It’s a mechanical device that pulls product from the NP conveyor and presents it to the robot in a specific quantity. There’s up to 10 robots in the system, and those 10 robots can pick from one or two denesters on either side, depending on what the recipe calls for. Once the case gets to the end of the system, the last robot does something a little bit different. The last product, if it’s a lid, a twist and seal lid, it doesn’t nest like the rest of the products. So those are caps, they get fed to the robot and the robot would put down the standard tool, pick up a vacuum tool, pick those lids, and place those into the case. After the product exits the system, it’s either sent down one of the additional process lines or a reject conveyor.
02:51 Speaker 1: The robotics system will process items at two different cycle times. We’ll do some of our sets at a 4-1/2-second cycle, which is about 800 parts per hour, and we’ll do some at 6-second cycle, which is 600 parts per hour.
03:05 Speaker 2: My experience with Bastian has been really good. The project managers, the sales, the engineering as far as mechanical, electrical, and programming have all been a really good help with the project, helping us understand the nuts and bolts behind the project.
03:23 Speaker 1: My experience working with Bastian Robotics has been both positive and informative. Positive as I see the progress we’ve made on the cell, and the improvements that are in front of us that could help us go to the next level. And also informative, through all the project and from all the information sessions and team that we would be able to answer questions, and to walk us through logistics, willing to work with us, listen to both sides of the story. It’s not always their solution, but it can be a team solution, and they’ve been able to work with us to come to the resolution we have today.
For more information contact us at:
Lift Truck Supply
T:1.800.873.1828
E: marketing@lifttrucksupplyinc.com
F: Contact Page
Be sure to share with #ForkliftHeadquarters
Aug20
00:08 Speaker 1: As the number one selling brand of pickles, relishes, and peppers, having reliable distribution processes is a really big deal to Mt. Olive Pickle Company. Helping to keep 170 million jars of product on the move each year at the Mt. Olive, North Carolina facilities is the work of Toyota forklifts. About 80 vehicles are typically deployed throughout the production and distribution areas of these operations.
00:35 Speaker 2: We chose to go with Toyota lifts because of our relationship with our partners, Southeast Industrial. We felt that those lifts fit our application very well. The safety features on the lifts as well as the mobility and the flexibility that Toyota provides, felt like it was a good fit for our business.
00:54 Speaker 1: The Toyota forklifts are involved in nearly every aspect of product movement at Mt. Olive Pickle Company. Here, Toyota’s 5,000 pound capacity, counterbalanced forklifts with internal combustion engines, unload raw cucumbers from delivery trucks. The powerful forklifts easily climb the ramps to reach trailers in the outdoor yard. These forklifts are equipped with special rotator attachments to quickly dump the cucumbers from their containers into large washing bins. Similar trucks with pneumatic tires work in large outdoor yards containing brine vats. The vats are used to ferment the cucumbers into pickles. Toyota forklifts also move pickle products to various processing stations, such as washing and cutting. Elsewhere in the building, jars to hold the finished pickles are unloaded and brought to packing stations. The packed items are then gathered from the end of lines and taken to storage. Once at the distribution center, cases of pickles are floor-stacked up to four pallets high. To fill customer orders, Toyota forklifts provide work platforms for associates to pick individual cases onto mixed pallets. Full pallets are also selected from storage and taken to stretch wrappers. The wrapped pallets are then loaded onto outbound trailers. In total, some 20 million cases each year ship from this facility to customers in all 50 states.
02:21 Speaker 2: It’s worked out great. The lifts are reliable, durable. We have a very high speed, high-paced type business, so we have to have reliable equipment, and the equipment has held up very well for us.
02:32 Speaker 1: Forklift drivers also appreciate the maneuverability and ease of operation that they experience when driving the Toyota forklifts, including the easy to reach controls.
02:42 Speaker 3: Oh, yeah, they’re right here at your fingertips. You got your forward and reverse. You got your up and down, your tilt and your side. It’s fine. I like it right here. It’s a lot better than the ones with the handles up here. I like the controls right here at my fingertips. I’ve been driving a lift for 30 years, and it’s good lift.
03:09 Speaker 1: Pickle production is a fairly seasonable business, with peak production between May and October when the company can take advantage of local cucumber crops. As a result, the forklift needs of the company vary with production volumes. For that reason, Mt. Olive Pickle looks to its Toyota dealer, Southeast Industrial Equipment, to supply the right quantity of vehicles needed throughout the year.
03:32 Speaker 4: Mt. Olive Pickle leases their equipment primarily because they want to have fresh equipment. It’s a very high use application. They run the equipment very hard. Having reliable, durable equipment is a key aspect to their expectations. We’re always looking for ways to save them money and partner with them.
03:54 Speaker 1: Southeast Industrial Equipment also provides regular maintenance on the vehicles, including preventative maintenance, as seen here, and any other repairs needed to assure that vehicles are in top working condition. Being able to depend on their forklift fleet is why Mt. Olive Pickle chose Toyota and Southeast Industrial Equipment in the first place.
04:16 Speaker 2: Really, really good. Very reliable. They’re really able to help us in a moment’s notice if we have an issue with equipment or have additional needs for additional pieces of equipment. They’re very receptive and a great partner. Two thumbs up.
For more information contact us at:
Lift Truck Supply
T:1.800.873.1828
E: marketing@lifttrucksupplyinc.com
F: Contact Page
Be sure to share with #ForkliftHeadquarters
Aug20
00:08 Speaker 1: Stemco is dedicated to safety. This focus is reflected both in the commercial truck products it makes, as well as operations at its manufacturing facilities.
00:17 Speaker 2: We make wheel end oil seals, that’s the main product line. We do a lot of other things. Anything to do with the wheel and the truck, we can make it.
00:27 Speaker 1: Its manufacturing facilities, like this one in Longview, Texas, are rugged environments that need forklifts with the power and durability to assure production keeps running 24 hours a day. That’s why Stemco chose Toyota forklifts. There are 14 vehicles in the fleet here that perform a variety of work. They bring raw materials, such as these heavy steel coils, to metal stamping operations. They also feed parts to assembly cells and pick up manufactured goods when work is completed. Toyota forklifts also load and unload delivery trucks. Recently, Stemco acquired several three-wheel electric forklifts. With their tight turning radiuses, these trucks are designed for movement in narrow spaces. Utilizing these trucks allowed Stemco to add pallet racks for temporary storage near its shipping and receiving docks.
01:22 Speaker 1: The forklifts also transport these heavy dyes used in metal-stamping operations. The dyes are stored in two separate buildings, so the trucks must navigate outside across uneven pavement. Additionally, the forklifts pick up scrap metal from various operations for recycling. The metal is taken outside and dumped into large recycling bins. Working in such rugged environments is a challenge for any forklift, but these Toyotas are designed for this kind of work. The problem though, was that they were facing damage as a result of driver neglect and abuse, running into racks and overhead doors, hitting potholes outside, bumping machinery.
02:05 Speaker 3: We started seeing just a lot of carelessness, brackets being bent, forklifts being driven in locations they didn’t need to be; just a lot of physical abuse to the forklifts, but a lot of safety items, lights, forks, back-rests, just a lot of heavy steel that was being abused.
02:27 Speaker 1: That carelessness was adding up. During a six-month period in 2016, repairs to the vehicles as a result of this damage totaled $66,000.
02:39 Speaker 3: And that’s money that’s not budgeted for, that comes straight off of their bottomline.
02:48 Speaker 1: Stemco’s Toyota dealer in East Texas, Lift Truck Supply, recommended that the company add T-Matics COMMAND, Toyota’s vehicle management system, to 10 of the 14 trucks in its fleet at Longview.
03:01 Speaker 3: It gives us real-time. It tells us that there was an impact at any time that the impact happens. It tells us the severity of the impact, it tells us the operator. What’s nice about it, it tells us instantly that something has happened that put that forklift in an unsafe condition. It may email supervisors, it’ll email safety coordinators, it’ll email the dealers.
03:27 Speaker 4: I think there’s much more accountability with the system we have now. Each driver logs in with a unique passcode. And that gives them a little bit more sense of awareness that they need to pay attention to their surroundings and be careful when they’re driving the lifts.
03:48 Speaker 1: T-Matics provides a wealth of data to track both productivity and safety.
03:54 Speaker 2: Who uses the truck and how they use it, how often they use it; are they using it in a safe way, all that kind of stuff. We’ve had a drastic drop in the kind of incidents we had when we were having damages done to the truck. That’s helped a bunch and also, in keeping with that, we’ve had less damage to facilities like overhead doors, and racks. And since we put the telematics on, those kind of problems have gone away.
04:22 Speaker 5: Alright, all you wanna do now is a visual check, you wanna check your tires, you wanna check your seatbelt, your seat. You wanna check the horn.
04:36 Speaker 1: In addition, T-Matics guides drivers in conducting safety checks before starting their shifts. An onboard display guides them through the pre-check list. Their responses are stored electronically, eliminating the paper checklist previously employed.
04:52 Speaker 6: There was opportunities for improvement, just keeping a paper checklist on a forklift that goes indoors and outdoors throughout the day; sometimes they would get wet, ink would run. I’ve gotten good feedback so far. A lot of the full-time drivers have a much easier job at maintaining records.
05:11 Speaker 7: I do that, I like the idea of the checklist monitor that we have here, which all you have to do mainly is log on. There’s no paperwork, there’s no anything else, it’s just automatically done. It’d ask you a question, you answer your question. “Yes,” “No,” “Unsafe. It needs to be inspected.” If it needs to be unsafe, it’ll stop the process, you will not be able to move the forklift at all.
05:39 Speaker 2: They check all of the tires, the forks, they check the operation of the truck, the brakes, the horns, the lights. They do a visual inspection on it to make sure there’s no damage done to the truck before they get on it. We have 19 different things that are checked on the truck, and we also thought that telematics was a good way to help us ensure that we were doing our pre-checklist before we got on the trucks, to make sure that we were doing that and keeping records of it.
06:14 Speaker 1: Between the reduction in damages, improved information on truck usage and the assurance of safety checks, Stemco has already seen a significant return on their investment in T-Matics. But more importantly, the company has assured a safer working environment for everyone.
For more information contact us at:
Lift Truck Supply
T:1.800.873.1828
E: marketing@lifttrucksupplyinc.com
F: Contact Page
Be sure to share with #ForkliftHeadquarters
Mar16