MACHINES

effective management of machinery and material handling equipment

Each business aims at the most effective management of their machine park. Managing the fleet of forklifts, heavy or specialized machinery involves high costs regardless of the extent to which the fleet is used. The primary task is to select adequate equipment in terms of its functionality and efficiency so that the operating costs are reflected in the number of transported logistic units.

Is there a possibility to measure the efficiency of forklifts and heavy machinery?

SIEGA software provides users with the information concerning current exploitation level of each machine and at the same time actively adjusts itself to the system of work in a given company. The management is informed whether a given machine or the whole machine park is working at its best, to what extent breakdowns interrupt the process and also what is the remaining potential of the machine fleet.

SIEGA also supports the process of machine selection and task distribution. The application measures the efficiency of each machine i.e. the number of transported logistic units and compares the data with maintenance costs. The user is then able to compare given machine models and choose best place and adequate tasks taking into consideration the nature of work as well as all infrastructural and process restrictions.

How to control machine operating costs and administer its servicing?

SIEGA software ensures full control over individual machines as well as the entire fleet. Each machine in the system is equipped with a chart including all the information with regard to exploitation and generated costs, which means the user controls, among others, such parameters as:

The entire machine cost in comparison with the number of working hours and transported units,
Machine exploitation level,
Fuel or energy consumption and costs,
Cost of maintenance and servicing,
Number of servicing activities,
The failure rates
The failure records,
Servicing time,
Upcoming periodic and technical inspection.

Moreover, the management is provided with information concerning the effectiveness of their service providers. The system keeps the users informed about the upcoming periodic inspections, notifies technical service about the required servicing and generates reports on actual condition of the fleet.

The software facilitates the comparison of individual machines or the entire organizational units in terms of the following costs they generate: servicing costs, fuel consumption, financing and total cost with respect to certain logistic or production units or working hours. The user can also compare hourly cost of selected machines, models and brands as well as compare these results with their performance.

Can we verify forklift consumption of LPG?

SIEGA software provides data on fuel consumption of all types of material handling equipment, including the forklifts powered by LPG. The application compares machines in terms of gas, diesel or energy consumption and the working hours or transported logistic units. The data may be analysed in any configuration to show fuel consumption and cost of individual machines or the entire fleet in a given time unit. The system allows users to follow the trends with regard to the consumption of each type of fuel and react quickly in case of a failure as well as keeps them informed whether a chosen action is effective.

How to reduce machine servicing costs?

Can we apply TPM tools to manage the fleet of material handling equipment?

It is definitely possible to apply Total Productive Maintenance tools to manage the fleet of machines and material handling equipment. Although it is not a fleet directly related to production, it participates in production and logistic processes and thus becomes their partial cost. Above all, the lack of availability of material handling equipment, especially equipment adjusted to particular operations, can result in downtime and financial loss. In order to prevent such situations from happening we should not only engage the technical service in the process of machine maintenance management, but also and most importantly the direct users i.e. machine operators, team leaders and the managers of particular business units. Our experience shows that such attempts are quickly abandoned in the face of current needs and concentration on the realization of business objectives. Therefore the contribution of individuals should be possibly least time-consuming and most effective.