Forklift downtime can bring negative consequences to several areas of your business. While there isn’t a formula to calculate a money loss, you may experience these unplanned expenses during a forklift breakdown.
Cost of the forklift operator (hourly + benefits)
If operating the forklift is your employee’s main job, the employee may be assigned to another work area or sent home for the remainder of the shift.
Lost production
A down forklift may halt the production line due to raw materials not being delivered. Or, if your forklift is responsible for loading finished goods on a truck, you risk upsetting a customer due to a late delivery. In some cases the late delivery results in an imposed penalty for your company. Even if your company has another forklift to run the production line or load the truck, you may need to pay overtime for another employee to complete the work.
Management oversight
When a forklift goes down, your manager’s attention is diverted from the day’s planned tasks. Any time spent working to get the forklift running is a distraction from projects that focus on your company’s core business.
Employee morale
Although employee morale is a “soft” cost, it’s still a cost. As delays occur and workload piles up from not having a working forklift, stress and frustration may be felt by a number of employees.
Not every stop in production will be a large money or time loss – and even regular forklift maintenance will not prevent every breakdown, but a forklift maintenance program will improve the life cycle of your investment. It may also spot forklift service issues before they cause a breakdown. When a breakdown does occur, a forklift dealer partnership gives you access to trained technicians, replacement parts and short-term rentals.
ProLift technicians are available 24/7! If your forklift breakdown occurs after hours or on the weekend, dial our emergency service line (800) 837-4020. Or, contact ProLift to speak to an equipment specialist about forklift maintenance programs.