A Power Study Is Essential to Right-Size Your Electric Forklift Fleet

When planning inventory levels, you don’t conjure numbers out of thin air.

Instead, you rely on accurate historical data to predict fluctuating demand and adjust stock accordingly. Without that insight, your facility would lose significant revenue in stagnant inventory and wasted storage space.

So, why rely on guesswork when planning electric forklift fleet optimization?

Many facilities do exactly that. They make broad estimates of power usage based on incomplete data and plan fleet size from there. The result is either money wasted on excess forklifts or burned trying to keep an overburdened fleet operating. However, an on-site power study provides the data you need to make confident, informed decisions. Don’t bust your budget when you can find the answers you need for free.

Read on to learn why a power study is vital to your electric forklift fleet’s success.

Most Electric Forklift Fleet Optimization Is Backwards

Planning an optimized electric forklift fleet doesn’t start with the forklifts.

On the surface, that seems a logical choice, but it hides a crippling flaw. Run times listed on spec sheets are estimates based on average use under simulated conditions. They do not reflect your operation’s unique needs.

Working without accurate data sets you up for failure.

Using incomplete information, you estimate your power usage and take your best guess. This leads to one of two mistakes. You overbuy trucks for your fleet to ensure coverage, but end up with inactive forklifts. Alternatively, you underbuy trucks. With too few in your fleet, you must rely on temporary fixes and rushed charging to keep your forklifts limping along.

Either way, your fleet is in trouble.

The Solution

Power usage determines optimal fleet size.

Power studies collect information like energy draw, shifts, breaks, and charging patterns. These studies paint a picture of your fleet's operations and provide concrete data. With that insight, you know how many forklifts you need running during each shift and how long they have for charging.

That big picture helps you select forklifts and batteries that meet your needs while minimizing costs.

What Is a Power Study?

A power study is the process of collecting energy data specific to your operation.

We connect monitoring devices to your existing fleet. These devices log a variety of metrics to create a comprehensive map of your power usage. With these fleet-specific requirements, we can help you choose power solutions that match your workflow with the fewest number of forklifts and batteries.

In fact, a single power study provides several key benefits:

• Understand fleet usage. Power studies provide fleet usage data that would otherwise be difficult to gather. These include demand spikes, how usage patterns affect battery performance, and productive uptime.
• Match power to demand. The battery choices and charging strategies recommended by these studies align with your real-world use, optimizing overall efficiency.
• Make confident decisions. Accurate operational data takes the guesswork out of choosing battery chargers, battery types, and potential infrastructure alterations.
• Improve charging practices. Power studies reveal which charging strategies naturally align with your workflow, reducing pushback from operators.
• Prevent downtime. An undersized fleet has more unplanned downtime. Power studies help you right-size your fleet and prevent this costly waste.
• Optimize long-term costs. Matching batteries to usage increases lifespan, reduces replacement cycles, and reduces wasted time. All of these lower the total cost of fleet ownership, improving ROI.

Best of all, there’s zero risk because our on-site power studies are free.

How Does a Power Study Work?

Your end of a power study is streamlined and easy to do.

1. Schedule a power study. You reach out to us to schedule your on-site power study here.
2. Monitor real-world usage. One of our power experts visits your facility and installs monitoring devices on your fleet to capture vital data.
3. Right-size your fleet. At the end, we provide clear data on fleet usage and a customized recommendation to match your unique needs.

Three simple steps and you’ll unlock the information you need to optimize your electric forklift fleet.

Who Benefits From a Power Study?

Power studies are for operations looking to improve their electric fleet.

If you aren’t contemplating changes to optimize your workflow or lower your costs, a power study may not be necessary. However, if any of these situations apply to your operation, a power study can be revolutionary:

• Expanding operations. If you’re adding trucks, shifts, or increasing workloads, you need to reassess your power options.
• Weighing power options. Power studies provide critical insights when choosing between lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries.
• Reducing costs. If your fleet costs are rising, right-sizing your fleet protects your budget.
• Running tight schedules. Multiple shifts with tight charging windows can shorten your batteries' lifespan if you aren’t using compatible chemistries and charging strategies.
• Power complications. Frequent battery swaps and uneven run times complicate workflow. Power studies help eliminate these challenges. Adapting to change. Navigating operational changes alters fleet demands and impacts power requirements.

If any of these challenges sound familiar, scheduling a no-risk power study is the first step toward a solution.

Customized Power Plans

Information is power, and we are all about empowering our clients.

You might be familiar with corporate consultants who charge exorbitant fees while providing unproven suggestions based on questionable data. That’s not how we do things. We deal in hard facts and methods so reliable that the results speak for themselves.

Consequently, we'll conduct an on-site power study for your fleet at no cost.

Our power experts arm you with the data to create a plan before you invest. That way, you can make informed power solution decisions with confidence. We’ll even work with your forklift provider to ensure you benefit from our industry-leading battery expertise hand-in-hand with your forklift service team. Get rid of the guesswork. Let us empower your fleet.

For more information or to schedule your power study, contact us online or at one of our 16 locations:

Alabama - Birmingham
Florida - Jacksonville and Lakeland
Georgia - Atlanta
Maryland - Hagerstown
North Carolina - Charlotte, Conover, Kernersville, and Wilson
South Carolina - Camden and Greer
Tennessee - Knoxville and Nashville
Virginia - Richmond and Salem
West Virginia - Nitro

Further Reading

• What Happens To an Electric Forklift Battery at End of Life?
• What Motive Power System Is Most Effective for Your Fleet?
• 6 Steps For Proper Battery Maintenance