Serviceability a top priority says lift truck exec
Moran: More service techs needed.
By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 10/1/1998
New electronic technology for lift truck design is enhancing truck performance dramatically and increasing throughput for users.However, an important issue associated with technology readily overlooked is ease of servicing. The comment is from James Moran, 2nd vice president of the Industrial Truck Association (ITA) and senior vice president for Crown Equipment. His comments were made during a recent interview at company headquarters in New Bremen, Ohio.
Moran says that among the features you should understand when considering a new lift truck purchase is the capabilities of the on-board service diagnostic system. One of the most costly practices when repairing lift trucks that use electronic systems is the practice of "swaptronics"-a mere replacement of components without a full understanding of the problem behind the defect. This practice increases the users cost both in outright service and in downtime.
A well-designed diagnostic system will go a long way to help gain such understanding, Moran says. And, he cites selective service access programs as another important development. Such programs provide different levels of access to employees with varying levels of service skill. A lift truck operator, for example, may have a restricted level of access to service activity compared to a fully certified technician.
"The most effective systems provide deeper levels of access which pinpoint the faulty component or system," Moran explains, "and then allow the service technician to test the faulty component using actual operating current levels rather than simply continuity testing. This assures that the correct component is replaced the first time, which reduces overall cost and downtime."
With service and maintenance assuming such importance, the need for qualified technicians be-comes imperative. Moran notes a current shortage of such skilled personnel, and the industry as a whole is looking to attract more people. The lift truck industry is capable of training candidates that have basic electrical/mechanical skills. A problem is communicating the opportunity that this industry offers.
Moran also cites continuing focus on ergo-nomics and operator training as other on-going trends in the industrial truck field. Another growing area, he says, involves equipment designs labeled "worker-assist" products. In this area he points to his own company's work-assist or "WAVE" vehicle de-signed to replace manual picking and storing conducted by operators, in many cases working from ladders.
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