The commitment of Materials Handling companies to sustainability practices has been increasing dramatically in recent years and is now becoming a current trend.
Boards of directors are demanding results from company carbon reduction programs not only for the environmental benefits, but for cost-reduction benefits as well. Suppliers, both of goods and services, risk losing important customers if they don’t pay close attention to their carbon footprint.
Colin Ingram, Impact’s Regional Sales Manager, offers an insight on how to reduce your carbon footprint and costs within your Materials Handling operations, resulting in a more competitive business and a cleaner environment for the rest of us!
1.Cutting carbon
Reducing costs can often result in reducing your carbon footprint – they tend to go hand in hand.
A smaller Materials Handling fleet instantly becomes a more efficient – as the very action of operating fewer trucks instantly cuts carbon footprint – and companies should also embrace the opportunity for a change in power source as well.
While there will always be a place for diesel forklift trucks – the ever-reliable workhorse of most MHE fleets – today’s electric- and gas-powered trucks have advanced to such a point that they can shoulder their diesel equivalents’ workload easily – and with a vastly reduced carbon footprint.
A MHE distributor who offers a multi-brand approach means they can meet customers’ needs with a wide variety of suitable equipment, including electric forklifts, and not somebody who wants to sell it to you to make the most profit.
For example, forklift manufactures are now offering a solution which is purposely designed to help companies cut their greenhouse gas emissions and lower running costs by switching to electric power.
Development of bigger and more highly efficient batteries – has enabled considerable cost-savings and environmentally-friendly operations. Such power ensures efficient and quick operations, plus excellent manoeuvrability in tight warehouse spaces – without the associated emissions and fuel costs of its internal combustion contemporaries.
Plus, such a move also has the added benefit of meeting the anticipated emissions legislation that is looming over the industry, ahead of time.
However, a switch to electric or gas power is only one path to a reduced carbon footprint and additional cost savings. For some companies, the answer to the conundrum may lie in a completely different direction – automation.
2.Rise of the machines
Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are arguably the future of the Materials Handling industry. AGVs are typically electrically-powered, so deliver cost-savings on fuel, a reduced carbon footprint, and round-the-clock efficiency in one package.
AGVs are ideally suited to repetitive jobs – the kind a human operator may find laborious. By tasking an AGV with accomplishing that job, companies can get the most out of their workforce, and move that human operator to a more important, productive position on the production line.
AGVs are relentless. They work 24/7, don’t take sick days and can be programmed to handle just about any section of the supply chain. They offer a new approach to manufacturing and logistics, and a chance to realise cost-savings that will bring down a company’s bottom line.
Also, while early AGVs typically worked through costly under-floor wiring, recently launched AGVs can now operate through laser triangulation, which sees the vehicles scanning for reflective strips placed on warehouse racking.
For example, such an approach also means a company’s AGV fleet can be reprogrammed and re-tasked easily, and can handle just about any materials handling task, thanks to a wide catalogue of load-handling equipment and attachments.
It’s easy to forget that managing your MHE fleet cleverly can deliver real carbon and cost savings, which is why proactive operators should demand more of their suppliers, to ensure they’re getting the best performance with the lowest impact on their pocket – or the planet.
Impact Handling is one of the UK’s leading Materials Handling supplier and a distributor for some of the world’s leading forklift manufacturers including Cat Lift Trucks, Carer and Rocla. Our complementary products are backed up by a group of experts who are able to provide an in-depth analysis within your MHE fleet in order to uncover potential efficiencies and savings.