Green Forklifts Vancouver BC Canada

Let Fleetman Help You Find The Right Green Solution For Your Company

When most people that are the least bit environmentally conscious consider acquiring a new or used forklift, the focus is usually on choosing the forklift that has the lowest emissions or maybe the one that burns the least amount of fuel.

Although these two subjects are important, there are many other issues that should be considered as well.

Let’s take a look at a few of them.

The Top (10) Ways To Operate A Green Forklift Fleet

1. Right size your forklift fleet by making sure you have the right number of forklifts properly matched to the needs of your business. Although you may burn the same fuel and release the same amount of emissions into the atmosphere given the same total hours of use in a fleet of 10 forklifts compared with 20, the servicing needs of 20 units compared with 10 will be much higher resulting in additional and unnecessary waste oil, filters and so on that will require proper environmental disposal.
2. Whenever possible, convert to electric forklifts, keeping in mind that electric forklifts do have some important limitations to consider. Regardless, electric forklifts do not have an internal combustion engine, mechanical transmission or differential which will require regular maintenance such as fluid and filter changes. As well, electric forklifts will generally have far less brake wear and they don’t emit tailpipe exhaust emissions. They do, however, emit some minor emissions associated with the lead acid battery recharging process but in comparison, electric forklifts are much more green than their internal combustion rival.
3. Make sure you have the right style of forklift matched to the right job at hand and spend some time analyzing forklift travel patterns. There are many instances that I’ve seen where excessive travel back and forth over long distances carrying light loads resulted in wasted fuel and asset wear. Consider using higher capacity forklifts over long distances to reduce the number of travel trips. This is just one example of how making a few minor changes will dramatically affect forklift fuel consumption, emissions and productivity.
4. Get the most out of your forklift equipment prior to upgrading. Take the time to set up a system for tracking maintenance costs so an informed decision can be made about when to upgrade. Taking this approach will reduce the chance that your company will spend too much money on old equipment where this money could have been used to acquire more cost effective and environmentally friendly forklift equipment.
5. Don’t let internal combustion forklifts idle while operators are on coffee or lunch break or while they are completing paperwork and so on. If this is an issue in your facility, there are accessories that you can install onto your forklift that will shut the engine down after a predetermined amount of time if the engine has remained at idle.
6. Make sure your company’s planned maintenance program is being implemented correctly and on time. An engine, if left without proper maintenance such as oil changes, greasing and tune ups, will soon emit excessive emissions. Checking engine emissions regularly to make sure they meet government regulations will ensure your planned maintenance program is on track and up-to-date. As well, check to make sure that all air filled tires are inflated to the correct pressure and check them regularly. Under inflated tires force the engine to work harder resulting in unnecessary fuel consumption.
7. When comparing forklifts, make sure the engine chosen delivers maximum torque at a low engine RPM. If high engine RPM is required for the engine to deliver maximum torque, then the engine will burn unnecessary fuel in the process.
8. Consider operating a forklift that does not allow the operator to control engine RPM. Instead, the forklift will control the engine RPM for all truck functions such as lift, tilt, side shift, direction changes, acceleration, deceleration and so on. Keeping engine RPM as low as possible will help the forklift burn less fuel and in the end, it will likely last longer too.
9. Insist that the forklift servicing provider you’ve chosen will dispose of all environmentally toxic products in an environmentally friendly and safe manner. Ask them for a copy of their environmental policy and procedures to review if you have any concerns.
10. Consider the services of an independent forklift fleet management consulting company, such as Fleetman Consulting Inc., to help you implement a proactive green forklift fleet management strategy for ethical and / or corporate branding reasons.

For more information on how to operate an environmentally friendly green forklift fleet, please contact Scott McLeod, President of Fleetman Consulting Inc., by calling (604)614-3530 or via email at help@fleetmanconsulting.com.