Retrofit
New forklifts: switching to electricity
The forklifts that have operated at the "Beko" plant since its foundation have used liquefied propane gas as fuel. This year, almost all of them will be replaced by electric ones. Let's figure out what caused such changes and why the plant and its employees need them.
The older the machine, the more wear and tear it has, the more often it is idle and the more money and time it requires for repairs. Forklifts with gas engines, which have worked "honestly" at the "Beko" plant for over 15 years, would soon require replacement with similar electric machines. Ivan Karavaev became the leader in the implementation of this project. He told us the details.
Ivan Karavaev,
head of the boiler room:
– One of the main reasons for switching to electric forklifts is the desire to reduce harmful emissions inside the plant premises to protect the health of our workers and the atmosphere in general. That is, one of the first targets is the environmental aspect. In addition, in order to store and release the propane cylinders, according to current legislation, we must have a warehouse with certain characteristics. This is a fire safety requirement. Everyone has a good idea of what gas leaks can lead to. If we continued to use propane further, additional capital costs would be required for its storage - so such a replacement is also beneficial from the aspect of the operational efficiency of our company.
The replacement project was prepared very carefully: first, all information was collected and analyzed about how the existing forklifts are used at the plant, what functions they perform, what kind of cargo and in what quantity they transport, how intensively and efficiently they are used, what are the costs of their operation, repair, maintenance, purchase of propane. After the analysis, a decision was made on which electric forklifts and with what characteristics were required, a technical specification was generated, and it was used to contact a company that offers such machines for leasing. The leasing form of purchase is beneficial not only because it reduces one-time costs, but also because during the entire life of the machines, their maintenance and repairs are carried out by specialists from the supplier company - there is no need to distract our own staff for this.
The first electric forklifts appeared at the plant as a test drive - the company provided them so that our team had the opportunity to see how such machines behave in our conditions, how suitable they are for us, whether it will be easy for our drivers to operate them, will additional (and lengthy!) retraining be required? After the test drive, an agreement was signed, and yet last year, in 2023, the first batch of six machines was delivered. The experience of their operation at the plant made it possible to identify issues not taken into account in the initial project and additional needs of our production, and this year an order was placed for the purchase of not only additional forklifts, but also electric stackers - simpler, more compact and economical machines, which can easily replace a large forklift in a number of in-shop technological processes. Along with the order, the charging stations were supplied, which were installed in pre-designated locations, and now both stackers and forklifts can be charged there as necessary.
By the end of March, 90% of the gas forklifts available at the plant will be replaced, and by the end of 2024, only one 5-ton forklift and a large diesel 10-ton forklift will remain, because so far no electric alternative has been found for them. Our drivers have already become accustomed to the new equipment, and now the air in the workshops has become cleaner, and operations in general are safer.
head of the boiler room:
– One of the main reasons for switching to electric forklifts is the desire to reduce harmful emissions inside the plant premises to protect the health of our workers and the atmosphere in general. That is, one of the first targets is the environmental aspect. In addition, in order to store and release the propane cylinders, according to current legislation, we must have a warehouse with certain characteristics. This is a fire safety requirement. Everyone has a good idea of what gas leaks can lead to. If we continued to use propane further, additional capital costs would be required for its storage - so such a replacement is also beneficial from the aspect of the operational efficiency of our company.
The replacement project was prepared very carefully: first, all information was collected and analyzed about how the existing forklifts are used at the plant, what functions they perform, what kind of cargo and in what quantity they transport, how intensively and efficiently they are used, what are the costs of their operation, repair, maintenance, purchase of propane. After the analysis, a decision was made on which electric forklifts and with what characteristics were required, a technical specification was generated, and it was used to contact a company that offers such machines for leasing. The leasing form of purchase is beneficial not only because it reduces one-time costs, but also because during the entire life of the machines, their maintenance and repairs are carried out by specialists from the supplier company - there is no need to distract our own staff for this.
The first electric forklifts appeared at the plant as a test drive - the company provided them so that our team had the opportunity to see how such machines behave in our conditions, how suitable they are for us, whether it will be easy for our drivers to operate them, will additional (and lengthy!) retraining be required? After the test drive, an agreement was signed, and yet last year, in 2023, the first batch of six machines was delivered. The experience of their operation at the plant made it possible to identify issues not taken into account in the initial project and additional needs of our production, and this year an order was placed for the purchase of not only additional forklifts, but also electric stackers - simpler, more compact and economical machines, which can easily replace a large forklift in a number of in-shop technological processes. Along with the order, the charging stations were supplied, which were installed in pre-designated locations, and now both stackers and forklifts can be charged there as necessary.
By the end of March, 90% of the gas forklifts available at the plant will be replaced, and by the end of 2024, only one 5-ton forklift and a large diesel 10-ton forklift will remain, because so far no electric alternative has been found for them. Our drivers have already become accustomed to the new equipment, and now the air in the workshops has become cleaner, and operations in general are safer.
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The environmental aspect and employee safety come first. Modernizing the equipment will make the air in workshops cleaner and reduce the risk of emergency situations.
Andrey Tokarev,
production manager:
– Safety is paramount at our plant, and the speed of the old gas forklifts was too high to move inside the workshops - 15 km/h, it couldn't be slower. We limited the speed of electric forklifts to 7 km/h - not all drivers liked this, but this speed significantly reduces the risk of accidents. In addition, electric machines open up a new way for us to develop in the field of industrial safety - in the future it is planned to install automation on them, which will reduce the speed in restricted sections of the route and stop the machine when approaching a person, including when moving in reverse. And, of course, improving the microclimate in the workshops means improving working conditions, and our main goal is to preserve the life and health of our people.
production manager:
– Safety is paramount at our plant, and the speed of the old gas forklifts was too high to move inside the workshops - 15 km/h, it couldn't be slower. We limited the speed of electric forklifts to 7 km/h - not all drivers liked this, but this speed significantly reduces the risk of accidents. In addition, electric machines open up a new way for us to develop in the field of industrial safety - in the future it is planned to install automation on them, which will reduce the speed in restricted sections of the route and stop the machine when approaching a person, including when moving in reverse. And, of course, improving the microclimate in the workshops means improving working conditions, and our main goal is to preserve the life and health of our people.
© Beko 2023