FOrklIFT TruCkS
CONDuCT PrOPEr TrACTION BATTEry MAINTENANCE DurING DOWNTIMES FOr A SMOOTH rESTArT OF lOGISTICS ACTIvITIES
traction batteries of electrically powered forklift trucks. They can discharge independently during this idle time and, in the worst-case scenario, even lose their capacity. Professional battery maintenance is the best way to ensure that the forklift truck fleet is ready for use again as soon as the time comes to restart. lead-acid batteries are most commonly used to
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power electric forklift trucks. During extended downtimes, these should be stored in a charged state – otherwise there is a risk of damage, which can drastically reduce the battery life. Fronius battery chargers have a dedicated conservation charge feature, which continuously supplies the battery with power. The batteries are therefore ready to use immediately, even if they have been out of action for a long time. This avoids high costs for maintenance or new purchases. lead-acid batteries feature a liquid electrolyte
that must be filled with water regularly during both operation and extended downtimes.
xtended downtimes – during long weekends or holidays, for example – present a particular challenge for the
Battery-quality water must always be used here and the specified fill level observed. This type of battery is also prone to the development of highly explosive oxyhydrogen – and downtimes are no exception. Proper ventilation of the battery charging rooms is therefore essential and smoke, sparks and any sort of open flames in the vicinity of the batteries must be avoided. In addition, users should never remove the vent plugs from the battery cells during charging. On top of this, the Selectiva 4.0 battery
chargers offer a special deep discharge characteristic that can be easily set on the charger itself. Harmful sulphation caused by extended downtimes or older lead-acid batteries is thus reliably reduced. This significantly
improves the capacity and performance of the battery. A clear advantage over other battery chargers, which often fail when batteries are in a deep discharge state, as the battery voltage is too low and can no longer be detected. It is also important that a compatible battery
charger and battery are selected. Thanks to their automatic voltage detection, the devices from the Fronius Selectiva series are suitable for different types of batteries, with various voltages and capacities – this makes allocation significantly easier. As a result, forklift truck operators can fully depend on the readiness of their traction batteries, even after extended downtimes.
Fronius Perfect Charging
www.fronius.com
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NEW WArEHOuSE TruCk SAFETy DEvICE SlASHES PrODuCT DAMAGE “By deactivating and disabling a Flexi Truck
n innovative new safety device that dramatically reduces damage to stored goods, lift trucks, warehouse
or distribution centre building infrastructure and storage systems is now available on Flexi Truck products. The Smart Stop ‘touch sensitive’ in-aisle
sensing system causes a Flexi Truck articulated very narrow aisle lift truck’s digital drive system to lock out should the truck touch a pallet load or rack while turning in an aisle. Once shut down by Smart Stop, the Flexi
Truck can only be restarted when the driver has reported details of the incident to his or her designated line manager. Because the operator cannot override this functionality, a product or rack impact incident must be logged and dealt with immediately. John Maguire, managing director of Narrow
Aisle, comments: “Alongside overloading racking beyond its capacity, lifting equipment abuse is the leading cause of rack system failure. Often, what appears to be a relatively minor incident can inflict significant long-term structural damage to racking. This can ultimately lead to rack collapse if the problem is not noticed before the next scheduled rack inspection.
that comes into contact with an object, such as a pallet load, racking or rack guards within the storage aisle, Smart Stop makes it impossible for an incident to go unreported.” The Flexi Truck Smart Stop system is offered
for use with the latest Flexi ‘Digital’ range of articulated warehouse trucks. Quickly and easily fitted to a truck’s left- and right-sided flanks, Smart Stop technology interfaces with the Flexi Truck’s digital ‘brain’, which controls all drive, hydraulic and steering functions. One of the early adopters of Smart Stop is
online garden supplies retailer, Primrose. Earlier this year, the company upgraded the materials handling fleet at its Sharpness, Gloucestershire, high-bay fulfillment centre with a new fleet of Flexi Truck 12 metre articulated forklift trucks featuring Smart Stop. Mike Costello, Primrose’s head of Operations
at Sharpness, says: “In the time since the new Flexi Trucks with Smart Stop have been in service at our Sharpness facility, incidents of rack damage have been completely eliminated and costs incurred by carrying out rack or truck repairs reduced to zero.” He continues: “While rack repairs are costly
and also have a negative impact on productivity, we know that some of the more serious safety problems within warehouses occur when truck operators fail to pass on details of collisions with racking or storage systems. “If damage goes unnoticed there is a chance
that a more significant safety issue will occur. The Flexi Smart Stop in-aisle sensor system means that there is absolutely no chance of aisle impact being overlooked within our operation.” Maguire adds: “Not only does Smart Stop
slash the type of damage to racking and products which can cost companies many thousands of pounds each year, it also simplifies the operator’s role by taking away the stress of causing damage whilst driving in aisle and also the need to report an accident. With the logistics industry finding it hard to attract lift truck operators, it is important to make the driver’s job as easy and stress-free as possible. “The unique digital steering Flexi Truck was
already one of the most straightforward trucks to operate on the market and now the availability of Smart Stop makes a highly driver-friendly lift truck even easier and safer to work with.”
Narrow Aisle
www.flexi.co.uk
42 OCTOBEr 2021 | FACTOry&HANDlINGSOluTIONS
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