How to Stay on Top of Forklift Fleet Maintenance

by Mike McCamey, on September 6, 2024 at 6:23 AM

How to Stay on Top of Forklift Fleet MaintenanceAccording to a Gallup survey, half of all full-time employees work more than 40 hours per week, with 40% working at least 50 hours. Moreover, the ADP Research Institute found that 56% of workers regularly experience intense pressure at work, and 43% work more hours because they feel they need to. So, if you're like most people, you don't have much room on your plate, even for essential tasks.

You know that forklift maintenance is mission-critical. Unplanned downtime can cost your facility as much as $22,000 per hour, and poorly maintained forklifts are the number one cause of breakdowns. Yet, no matter how vital, fleet maintenance is one more drain on your already overloaded day. So what do you do when there are only so many hours to work and forklift fleet management is just one task too many? Read on to learn how to make forklift maintenance automatic and effortless.

The Cost of Repair


Safety is your top priority despite all the demands on your time, and you know how important forklift maintenance is in keeping your staff safe. Still, unless your industry has been plagued with a recent rash of accidents, it can be challenging to justify additional resources for maintaining your forklift fleet. To fix that, let’s try a little thought experiment. 

Imagine your facility on its busiest day. You're staring down the barrel of some heavy deadlines, and you need your whole team doing their best work to make your targets. Suddenly, one of your forklifts sputters and dies. Start your stopwatch because, until that forklift is fixed, you could be losing more than $350 per minute.

The total cost of downtime varies by industry, but on average, manufacturing operations lose between $20,000 and $22,000 per hour, while warehouses lose about $10,000 per hour. Even if one of your forklifts goes down for a single shift, that unplanned downtime could cost you between $80,000 and $176,000. Relying on forklift repair instead of planned forklift maintenance is the same as saying that wasted revenue is inevitable.

Yet, planned forklift maintenance prevents these losses by fixing downtime before it happens. With a bit of time and care, your forklift fleet won’t let you down again.

Your Most Precious Resource

Sure, a little time and care will keep your forklifts up and running, but that's the whole problem, isn't it? You already have so many demands on your time, and no matter what, you'll never get a wasted second back. To make matters worse, forklift maintenance isn't like brushing your teeth. It requires more effort than a twice-daily scrub and an hour of deep cleaning every six months. For example, an IC forklift should receive at least the following every 250 hours or two months:

At the 500-hour mark, it needs all of that plus:

  • Inspect chains
  • Check mast operation
  • Inspect carriage rollers
  • Inspect lift and tilt cylinders
  • Adjust chassis links
  • Inspect hydraulic oil pump and replace oil as necessary
  • Clean radiator
  • Inspect PCV valve
  • Asses pedal free play
  • Check and adjust hand brake

And at 1,000 hours or six months, it needs all of the above and more. It's enough to make your head spin. So what do you do when you already have too much to do, no time to do it, and planned forklift maintenance, though vital, is just too much to tackle right now?

Make It a Team Lift

You get help from your team. Not your staff. They already have their own responsibilities and may lack the necessary technical qualifications to properly maintain your fleet. Instead, you turn to a trusted forklift fleet management solutions partner like Mid Columbia Forklift. Plus, saving time isn’t the only value of working with a forklift fleet management company:

  • Reduced Maintenance Expenses. Outsourcing your planned forklift maintenance saves you money in the long run. Plan premiums help you better budget for forklift maintenance and are far less expensive than a breakdown.
  • Improved Fleet Efficiency. Expert technicians keep your forklifts operating as the manufacturer intended, ensuring you get maximum levels of efficiency out of each one.
  • Access to Maintenance Experts. Our expert technicians have seen it all. That level of experience speeds up maintenance and repair, meaning you receive fast, reliable service.

Let Us Carry the Load

Our expert team has the technical skills and experience to create a custom maintenance plan to fit your unique needs. Our forklift technicians come to your facility on your schedule and handle all the necessary forklift maintenance so that you don’t have to. Whether you have one forklift or fifty, our customized plans will keep your machines running, preventing budget-busting breakdowns and even improving their resale value. Let us help you stay on top of forklift fleet maintenance. To learn more about which maintenance plan is right for you, contact us online or visit your local Mid Columbia Forklift.

Auburn 253-854-5438
Pasco 509-547-7413
Wenatchee 509-663-9009
Yakima 509-457-5137

Further Reading
Forklift Preventative Maintenance vs. Routine Service
Why You Should Outsource Your Forklift Planned Maintenance
How to Calculate Downtime Costs and Avoid Unplanned Downtime
Forklift Service Maintenance
Topics:Service

About This Blog

Material handling articles to help answer the questions you have about forklifts, aerial equipment, utility vehicles, warehouse optimization, and safety.

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