V-Force Energy Solutions - Flipbook - Page 7
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Understanding Your
Power Usage
POWER UTILIZATION
specific forklift battery – until a battery failure
resulted in unexpected downtime.
Given recent technology advances in data
collection and analytics, your forklift power usage
does not have to be a mystery. There is no need
for you to make forklift power decisions based
on hunches or even educated guesses. Tools are
available to help you make informed decisions on
your energy strategy. Why is this important?
Forklifts consume power differently depending
on the application and operator driving patterns.
For instance, consider the duty cycle for forklifts,
which can vary greatly. Some forklifts run almost
continuously in some applications. In others,
forklifts can operate intermittently, running for
short periods or moving pallets relatively short
distances. Some applications fall between these
extremes, running intermittently but for longer
periods.
Forklift batteries and the power your fleet utilizes
are among the important factors determining how
well your operation performs. When not managed
properly, forklift batteries can have a negative
effect on operational productivity. As a result,
when they fail, it means some of your forklifts are
either not available or operating to standards.
Differences in duty cycle can call for differences
in battery capacity, which means you need an
energy strategy designed to meet the specific
needs of your fleet and how it consumes power.
Until recently, operators and warehouse
managers often knew little about how their
forklifts utilized power or even the health of a
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