Lift truck user survey: How customers acquire, maintain and replenish their fleets

How far has technology penetrated fleet management?
According to survey results, tracking the hour meter or age of the lift truck is third on the list of most popular uses of fleet management technology. It follows maintenance history and cost in the top slots, at 90% and 77%, respectively. Just 43% of respondents have implemented or plan to implement some kind of technology to help manage their fleets; a number McKean says is certainly on the rise, but not at the pace he would have expected.

“Some companies are trying to embrace technology, but some companies are making what might be irrational decisions,” says McKean. “If a customer has technology, or a tool to measure, then they can come to a vendor and ask, ‘What can you save me?’”

For those companies who have yet to get into fleet management, not being able to “see” the savings might be a key reason why they do not explore it, says McKean. Or, they might see marginal savings but question whether the change in processes is worth it.

“It might not be that they lack the time or resources to make that change,” he says. “They simply don’t see the value.”