Lift trucks: Fleet maintenance program enhances predictability of uptime and costs

Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., is one of the largest manufacturers of sporting goods merchandise in the United States. Following rapid expansion and the consolidation of several facilities, the company took the opportunity to re-evaluate its fleet maintenance program. By outsourcing maintenance to a lift truck dealer and standardizing around a single brand, the company was able to increase productivity, decrease downtime and streamline its fleet maintenance.

This maintenance plan provides Rawlings with a certified technician who handles any equipment issues, performs scheduled maintenance and makes any necessary improvements on various lift trucks throughout the facility. This plan gives Rawlings the unique advantage of scheduling maintenance sessions to ensure uptime.

“We deal with a seasonal environment in which we experience surges in workload, so we need our equipment to operate consistently,” says Terrie Semsch, safety manager at Rawlings. “With integrated service, quality equipment and comprehensive maintenance, the partnership ensures we are up and running in top performance. And, this is something we can now depend on.”

The plan also includes a structured payment option, where the company pays a fixed monthly payment regardless of the amount of service the maintenance technician offers that month. This option has saved a substantial amount of money, as the previous maintenance plan charged per session. It also allows the company to better manage its capital and reallocate dollars that otherwise would have been set aside for unexpected maintenance.
The new fleet includes a right-sized assortment of electric pallet trucks, counterbalanced lift trucks, orderpickers and swing-reach trucks. Following a comprehensive and standardized training program, operators and managers have been very impressed with the equipment.

“Since we started using the Raymond trucks, we have seen improvement in productivity and employee morale,” Semsch says. “They actually like the Raymond equipment because it doesn’t wear them out, especially during the busy season when we run back-to-back shifts.”

The Raymond Corporation
800-235-7200
http://www.raymondcorp.com