The Kalmar T-2 is the most versatile and productive yard spotter on the market. Want to see what they envision for the next 15 years? See it in this short video. Learn more about current Kalmart Ottawa Yard Spotters.
The Flu, Its Cost and How to Avoid it
Each flu season in America, between 5% and 20% of American’s contract the flu. This leads to 111 million lost productive work days, which costs American business approximately 7 billion dollars! In addition, the direct costs (doctor’s visits, medication, hospitalization) cost individuals over 4.5 billion dollars a year! Source: CDC Whether it’s in your accounting department or forklift operators, you want to limit an outbreak at your company and contain any outbreak that does occur.
The effects of lost productivity can have a great effect on your ability to deliver products and services and provide customer service, which can lead to a negative impact on your bottom line. But there are things you can do to lower the risk at the department level and facility level. It all starts with planning and communication.
- Developing a plan to combat influenza? Businesses plan for all sorts of calamities and naturally occurring disasters. Does your company have a preparedness plan to prevent a flu outbreak? A tremendous amount of information is available to help you plan for and combat an outbreak of the flu a http://www.flu.gov/planning-preparedness/business/
- Educate your employees and take steps to encourage vaccination.One study showed a decrease in over 71% in hospitalizations when a flu vaccination was administered to adults of all ages (source). Flu vaccines not only reduce the chances of contracting the flu, but it also reduces the effects of the flu if an employee contracts it, thus enabling them to get back to full productivity sooner.
- Use Resources.The CDC has a great Business Tool Kit to help you educate your employees about the flu, how to prevent it and what to do if you think you are coming down with it. Visit the CDC Business Tool Kit Webapge.
- Proper sanitary proceduresare also essential during the flu season. Placing hand sanitizers throughout your facility and encouraging if not outright requiring their use will help contain the spread of the virus, should an employee become infected. There are additional steps you can take to prevent the spread of the flu, including increasing janitorial services or assigning teams to assist in the sanitization of routinely used and shared points, such as water fountains, door knobs/handles, bathrooms, and kitchens.
- Send them home!If an employee starts to show the signs of influenza, it’s important to remove them from the facility as soon as possible and require that they remain home until symptoms have subsided, particularly a fever.
- Seek immediate attention. If you or anyone around starts to feel fatigue, loss of appetite, lethargy, fever or any of the other first signs of the flu, get to a doctor and ask about anti-viral drugs. These drugs can cut your misery in half, as well as your time off work, and productivity.
The effects of flu season can be dramatic if left unaddressed. But developing a plan to deal with the flu and spreading education before the flu spreads itself around your facility will help you maintain your business productivity during this flu season.
Our focus is frequently on productivity, and this is not always about equipment and processes. Sometimes peripheral components can have an impact on our bottom lines, and it is important to us to serve as your partner in addressing all facts of productivity. We encourage you to visit the flu.gov site to learn more.
Forklift Tax Deductions Still in Play, But Time is Running Out
Under 2018 Section 179 rules, first-year bonus depreciation has been expanded to include used equipment bought and placed in service after September 27, 2017. The first-year bonus deduction for all qualified equipment also increased from 50 percent to 100 percent of its cost.
Another provision of the new tax law increased the maximum depreciation deduction on section 179 property from $500,000 to $1 million and increased the cap on the equipment purchases from $2 million to $2.5 million. Those changes took effect December 31, 2017, according to the Internal Revenue Service. Under section 179, equipment purchases are treated as an expense and deducted from income.
Both section 179 and bonus depreciation allow 100 percent write-off of the cost of used equipment in the first year. Both also stipulate the equipment must be put into use in the year the purchaser takes the deduction.
But remember, in order to take advantage of these significant tax savings for 2018, you MUST acquire your equipment and PLACE IT INTO SERVICE by midnight December 31, 2018. Learn more about Section 179 at www.section179.org.
Now is the best time to save BIG in 2018 on a new forklift , aerial lift, sweeper, scrubber or commercial vehicle from Cal-Lift Inc. Give us a call for a quote today at 800-322-LIFT.
CLARK Force-Cooled Wet Disc Brakes
The CLARK S-SERIES lift truck features Force-Cooled Wet Disc Brakes as standard equipment. The S-SERIES lift truck was designed with Force-Cooled Wet Disc Brakes to help the overall strength of the lift truck as well as to lower operator fatigue.
CLARK S-Series Forklift Overhead Guard Video
The CLARK S-SERIES pneumatic lift truck features a newly designed overhead guard.
The overhead guard has been engineered for strength, functionality and automotive styling.
Learn more about the CLARK S-Series Forklift
CLARK S-Series Forklift FRAME Video
The CLARK S-SERIES lift truck is Built To Last® from the ground up. Durability of CLARK’s S-SERIES begins with the frame of the lift truck. That durability comes from features such as a one-piece fully-welded frame, heavy gauge steel, 5/8 inch thick durable fenders, integral tie-downs and more. See our S-Series line-up in our CLARK forklifts showroom.
Pedestrian Safety: 16 Things You Should Know
When it comes to forklift safety, a lot of emphasis is placed upon safe forklift operation, as it should be. What we see quite frequently, though, is a lack of training for employees working in a warehouse situation but who do not operate forklifts but merely work around them all day, every day. Working around them without knowledge pertaining to their potential hazards creates a dangerous scenario for catastrophe.
We recommend formal classroom training for all of your facility employees who could encounter a forklift in the course of their responsibilities. This training should cover the following:
- Visibility: The operator’s vision is severely limited, especially when carrying a load. There are many other pitfalls of assuming that the operator is aware of the employee’s presence.
- Eye contact: Employees should try to make eye contact with an operator. This ensures that the operator is fully aware of the employees presence. Busy operators may or may not be aware of the pedestrian, and any sudden move could result in a collision.
- Stopping: A 7,000-lb. forklift carrying a 5,000-lb. load can not stop as quickly as a car, and if the operator slams on the brakes to avoid an employee, the employee could find 5,000 pounds of product hurtling in his direction.
- Keeping your distance: Never approach a forklift from the rear. Keep beyond three feet of the side, and never stand in front of a forklift or on the forks. This keeps the pedestrian safe should any sudden movement of the forklift occur.
- Forklifts cannot be heard: Electric forklifts are completely silent, and even internal combustion units can approach without being heard in a busy, noisy facility. Be certain that all pedestrians understand this and are diligently LOOKING for lift trucks and equipment at all times, particularly at intersections.
The potential dangers of working around this equipment: Rear ends swing wide, loads can spill, toes can be run over, and many other dangers exist if the employee is not cognizant of how to behave around a forklift. Lift trucks present a number of dangers. The operators are aware of these hazards, but pedestrians often consider forklifts benign pieces of equipment.
- Falling loads: When walking near a lift truck depositing or retrieving a load at various heights, a pedestrian should know that loads can tumble down. The pedestrian should avoid the area at all costs.
- Wide swings: The rear of the forklift can swing quickly to one side or the other, resulting in collision with a pedestrian or running over feet.
- Weight: People rarely understand that forklifts are very heavy machines that cannot stop quickly. A collision often results in serious injury and sometimes death. Pedestrians need to understand this and respect the potential dangers.
- Proper use: Pedestrians should know that they are not allowed to operate this equipment without proper training, even if it is to hop on a quickly moving lift truck to find the product they are seeking.
- Reporting: Any unsafe conditions should be reported by pedestrians immediately to a supervisor. These include unsafe operation or conditions in the facility that create a potential for accident.
What you can do to minimize these potential dangers: As a manager or supervisor, you must ensure that each person entering your facility, whether he is another employee or a guest, understands these potential hazards and is alert for them when in your facility.
- Training and briefing: Training pedestrians or employees who regularly enter your facility should be a requirement, whether the person is an employee, vendor, or other guest who is a regular visitor. If you have an occasional visitor, this guest should be briefed on what type of equipment you operate, how it operates, your safety procedures, and the need to be alert at all times.
- Install lanes and pedestrian islands: Simple pedestrian lanes painted on the floor and training on how to use them are the ultimate scenario to protect pedestrians. Having protected islands for pedestrians to pack or perform other duties keeps them safe when working among forklifts.
- Lighting: Provide adequate lighting in aisles and other areas to ensure maximum visibility.
- Set speed limits: Finding the balance between maximizing productivity and creating a safe environment for employees is key. Aisle speeds and intersection speeds will vary and are different for each facility.
- Install mirrors at intersections: Then, train employees and operators alike to use them to see whats coming around the corner.
- Ensure that all safety devices on all of your lift trucks are operational: Items like back-up alarms, horns, and lights should be checked daily to ensure operational effectiveness.
It takes only a few seconds of inattentiveness for an accident to occur. Training, informing, and monitoring produce a safe work environment and minimize your bottom line exposure, should an accident occur.
Safety is no accident, and if we can be of any service to you in creating a safe work environment, we are here to help.
Forklift Fleet Optimization
Purchasing a new forklift or other material handling equipment can be expensive, but that’s just a fraction of what it costs to operate it efficiently, or inefficiently. Getting the most bang for your forklift buck means understanding the products you move and establishing baseline costs as a start. Here are 10 tips for optimizing your forklift fleet.
- Assess your fleet’s total cost. The cost of your forklift or material handling equipment is typically only about 20% of your total long-term cost. Find out what service is costing, parts, labor, break-downs, rentals, additional equipment kept on hand for break-downs, overtime resulting from down time etc… This can be a real eye opener.
- Optimize your forklift fleet by material flow. Determining what each piece of equipment is moving, where, when and how often can help you determine productivity and equipment choices. This way you can determine a lift truck’s cost per pallet move, rather than cost per operating hour.
- Find an integrated dealer that understands all facets of your business. Work with a company that not only sells equipment but understands all facets of material handling. These types of dealers can provide you with total solutions which encompass all the areas of your material handling operation.
- Get out of the service business. Get information and quotes for full maintenance leases from your dealer. You dealer knows your equipment better than you, and can maintain it to be more productive. Full maintenance takes the guess work out of total equipment operational costs by eliminating “surprise” repairs that often occur over time.
- If you perform your own service, look into parts programs. Parts availability is key to maintaining uptime, so an effective parts distribution network facilitated through a lift truck manufacturer and its local dealer is essential to keep your fleet running. Some dealers can provide parts for multiple brands and types of trucks. In addition, dealers will sometime consign parts to your facility, further improving your parts availability and uptime.
- Stay on top of equipment advancements. Like most facets of business, material handling advancements can improve your operation and productivity. Attend ProMat, stay connected with industry resources and work with a dealer that is on top of providing the latest in material handling products including forklifts, storage and retrieval and material moving equipment.
- Look into fleet management. Knowing the cost of operating equipment, where and how it is being utilized is key to allocation efficiency and productivity. Software programs are available that can provide you with this information. Work with a dealer that can provide these solutions to your operation.
- Invest in training early and often. Build a robust and active training program. Safety and productivity go hand in hand. Well trained operators and employees are proven to be more productive and safe. Training reduces your product and equipment damage costs, injury, insurance and many other latent costs of fleet and equipment operation.
Optimizing your materials handling operation takes a bit of work. However, working with an integrated materials handling partner will take a lot of the load off your shoulders and help you operate a more efficient and effective materials handling operation.
Give us a call at 800-322-LIFT to speak to one of our material handling professionals.
CLARK S-Series Forklift, “SAFE” Video
From improved center of gravity, to optional rear view camera and automatic parking brake, see all the new features and improvements that make CLARK’s new S-Series
one of the safest forklifts on the market today. Learn more about the S-Series
Tips to Lower Your Material Handling Costs
Reducing your costs means increasing your profits and increasing your profits has never been more challenging than in recent years. Our experience with hundreds of various types of operations, utilizing hundreds of pieces of equipment in more than a thousand ways, has exposed us to thousands of variations in facilities, equipment, and applications. In working with these diverse clients, we have recognized commonalities that, when implemented, resulted in lower total operating costs for materials handling most of the time. Following are five that we highly recommend:
Choose Application-Specific Equipment – In other words, “buy the right equipment for the job at hand.” We often see equipment being used in applications for which they were not designed. That results in accelerated wear, increased damage and ultimately, increased costs. Working with professionals who can survey your applications and recommend the right equipment for each job is one of the most important things you can do to decrease overall costs. Using the proper equipment with the right specifications means efficient, productive results.
Planned Maintenance – Your fleet equipment works hard. And hard-working equipment needs proper maintenance. Working with a professional and reputable fleet service provider that serves you at appropriate intervals is the key to catching small maintenance issues, before they become larger and much more expensive. In addition, well-maintained equipment operates more efficiently, experiences more up-time and results in improved operator morale.
Invest in a Robust Training Program – Operator safety training is required by OSHA, and a daily inspection of equipment is one of OSHA’s requirements. Most companies train their operators regarding safe operation, but more often than not, the training stops there. Clients that invest in training employees to perform daily inspections, and to know what to look for, see results. If you install a process for equipment that will eventually need repair, you can ensure that unsafe equipment stays off the operating floor, and small repairs can be handled before they blossom into colossal nightmares.
Work With Single-Source Dealerships When Possible – The more work you can assign to a qualified and reliable supplier, the fewer calls you have to make. In turn, the supplier becomes more familiar with your equipment, facility and applications. This leads to greater efficiencies for you. It also allows your supplier to better understand your operation and thus make logical suggestions that can reduce your costs, increase your efficiency and productivity, and ultimately improve your bottom line.
Fleet Management – Whether you do it yourself or assign responsibility to your materials handling partner, fleet management is a key part of knowing the useful economic lifespan of your equipment. And economic lifespan may vary by application within your operation. If you keep a finger on the pulse of your maintenance expenses and know when it’s time to trade in or re-lease, that process will more than pay for itself in the long run.
There are hundreds of other things you can do to minimize the total operating costs of your facility. We have addressed some of them in previous feature articles. We hope that you have found these Top Five useful. If we can assist you further, or provide you with more information, please contact us at 888-322-LIFT.
Cal-Lift Inc. 