Service and Maintenance: The Keys to Forklift Efficiency - Catalog - Page 13
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Preserving Power with
Battery Maintenance
AVOID DISRUPTIONS
Think about the number of times you’ve
experienced downtime that was somehow
associated with your forklift batteries. Perhaps
it was caused by a bad cell or the failure of an
inner cell connector. Maybe the battery simply
could no longer be charged to capacity.
We see them today with increasing frequency
– on television and social media, in books, and
elsewhere. Messages promoting self-care to
maintain or improve our health, performance
and well-being are everywhere. However, selfcare extends beyond our individual health. The
same kind of care can be taken with the material
handling equipment we use every day, including
the products that power the fleet.
Other power-related issues, such as a nonfunctioning battery charger or a broken cable or
connector, can also compromise your forklift’s
performance or even keep it from running
altogether. A planned maintenance program for
your batteries and chargers is instrumental in
reducing these costly disruptions that disrupt
your workflow.
Proper battery and charger maintenance is a
multi-faceted process. A good plan aims to
decrease unexpected battery failures (and the
associated costs and downtime) while increasing
energy efficiency and battery life. It includes:
Electric forklifts are highly dependent on the
power that moves them and the battery is
essentially the heart of the forklift. If you don’t
prioritize maintaining battery health, you risk
having equipment that isn’t ready to perform
when needed. Since batteries and chargers
work together as a system, your battery chargers
are significant contributors to battery health, so
properly maintaining both chargers and batteries
is important.
Visual inspection
Cleaning
Documentation
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