You should find out what your technician’s pay structure is.  There are lift-truck companies that provide bonuses to their  in based on the dollar value of parts sold or there may be bonuses for selling certain parts brands.  Be careful if this is the case.  Your technician may be padding his own wallet instead of trying to help you with your business.  There are a lot of lift-truck companies who will not provide these types of bonuses to their technicians because they want only your best interest to be in the technician’s mind.

There is a difference in OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and aftermarket parts.  That doesn’t mean that the OEM parts are always better but that is often the case.  Should you spend a few dollars and buy a Nissan oil filter or save a few dollars and buy aftermarket.  Personally, I wouldn’t risk it.  We had a demonstration with a Nissan oil filter laser cut so the inside of the filter was visible.  The aftermarket filter was also cut in half and you could see the difference right away.

Ask your technician or parts counter representative questions about parts and make sure you’re working with someone you can trust.  They’re working for you, the customer and it could save you thousands of dollars!

Some ways to find out if your technician is qualified to work on your equipment:

• Ask for the technician’s certification document
• Have a competitor’s technician inspect your equipment
• Look into past equipment repairs & why they were done
• Have you had repeat repairs?

“Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance”                           – Kurt Vonnegut

I called a company in January 2007 and setup a meeting so we could discuss ways to increase their forklift uptime and lower their long-term costs.  During the meeting I found that the equipment didn’t appear to be in good condition and would most likely fail the annual inspection.  

I asked the Operations Manager, “What have you been doing for planned maintenance?”.  

He responded with the common response of, “We do our own maintenance and have a licensed technician come in for the annual inspection.”

I of course, advised that they have a licensed technician perform maintenance on the forklifts at the minimum recommended interval of 200 hours or 180 days, whatever comes first.  The Operations Manager let me know that they don’t feel that their use of the forklift warrants planned maintenance and they haven’t had any major problems.  I stayed in touch with this contact, knowing that eventually, they will understand why planned maintenance is to their benefit and not just a cash grab from the forklift companies.

About 6 months later, I received a call for repairs on one of the forklifts.  It wasn’t anything major for our licensed technician and the repairs were done quickly and properly.  I thought this would give my contact more of an understanding when it comes to planned maintenance.  Unfortunately, he still didn’t feel that maintenance was necessary.

Not long after that, The Ministry of Labour paid a visit to the facility and performed a safety audit.  There were several issues including the forklifts.  When The Ministry of Labour advised that planned maintenance is essential to the safety of the facility and employees, he listened.  

Since that day, my customer has thanked me for the great work our technicians have done.  This company has since become a model for safety that advises other facilities.  Planned maintenance is now performed every 90 days and our skilled technicians have been able to repair the forklifts before breakdowns.

I don’t have the same clout as The Ministry of Labour but I do try to help my customers by giving them all of the necessary information to make an educated decision when it comes to maintenance.  

This is a story that I always tell companies when I hear, “We do our own maintenance”.

The purpose of this blog is to provide some of the knowledge that I share with my customers every day.  Lift-trucks are an essential piece of equipment for many businesses and individuals.  My goal is to provide information that will save you time, energy and money.

As a forklift expert, feel free to use me as a consultant.

What makes me an expert?  I am a representative with one of the largest material handling equipment dealers in North America.  I continually update my industry product knowledge, safety, customer service and search for ways to save time, energy and money for my customers. 

Some topics I look forward to discussing include:

1. Safety & training – why you want everyone to go home at the end of the day
2. How to find a qualified technician – what’s the difference?
3. The importance of planned maintenance – should I care?
4. Buy, lease or rent?
5. Rentals – short or long term & are they right for you?
6. New or used?