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Chargers

Learn more about forklift battery chargers from the blogging team at BHS, Inc. These posts answer common industry questions about charging forklift batteries and the chargers themselves.

Topics

  • How a Battery Monitoring Solution Protects Forklift Fleets

    If you operate forklifts today, odds are your fleet relies on electric power. An estimated 65 percent of forklifts in the North American market run on electricity. In Europe, that figure is 80 percent. The market for electric lift trucks is expected to expand by a compound annual growth rate of 7.1 percent through 2030, reaching a value of more... Continue Reading

  • OSHA 1926.441: What to Know About OSHA’s Standard for Battery Charging in Construction

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards address battery charging areas in the construction industry in OSHA 1926.441, a rule on “batteries and battery charging.” For the same topic in general industry (as opposed to construction alone), the relavent standard is OSHA 1910.178(g), which we’ve covered extensively — here, for instance. Compared to the battery room standards for general... Continue Reading

  • OSHA Lockout Tagout Standards in the Forklift Battery Room

    OSHA lockout tagout standards are crucial protections for workers who use heavy machinery. According to one OSHA fact sheet, compliance with federal safety rules on “control of hazardous energy” stop 50,000 injuries from taking place every year. Even more importantly, they save an estimated 10 lives per month. Forklift battery rooms are a prime example of areas where lockout/tagout procedures... Continue Reading

  • Electric Forklift Fuel Savings Compared with IC Trucks

    A recent claim by a leading energy provider states that electric forklifts can save up to 80 percent of the fuel costs associated with trucks that run on internal combustion engines, specifically those powered by liquid propane. Of course, an electric company certainly has a vested interest in encouraging the switch from IC to electric power. So how accurate is... Continue Reading

  • Managing Forklift Batteries in Food Production Facilities

    If you use forklifts in a food production capacity, odds are those trucks are electric. Electric lift trucks run cleaner and don’t release emissions, making them ideal for the super-clean, hazard-sensitive nature of a food production facility. Of course, while electric forklifts won’t leak oil or leave a layer of soot on the machinery, forklift batteries do sometimes leak. Electrolyte... Continue Reading

  • Watering Forklift Batteries in Fast Charge Applications

    Watering forklift batteries is fairly simple when you operate a well-run battery room. When chargers are distributed throughout a facility, however — as in many fast charge applications —  things get a little more complicated. First off, battery fleet management systems in traditional battery rooms ensure that all batteries remain on an adequate watering and maintenance schedule. These systems are... Continue Reading

  • Electrician Safety in the Forklift Battery Room

    The unique power demands of forklift battery rooms create singular electrical hazards. Electricians can’t simply cut power to the system and proceed without caution; batteries remain energized even when separated from charging systems. Additionally, unless the battery room was designed with working clearance and guarding around all live components, it can be a particularly dangerous place for workers to enter.... Continue Reading

  • Forklift Battery Management for Manufacturers

    The manufacturing industry can’t operate without adequate material handling systems, and, inevitably, those systems include forklifts. From replenishment to handling pallets of raw goods and finished products, forklifts provide the muscle that keeps manufacturing lines running. It comes as something of a surprise, then, that manufacturing facilities don’t always apply the same engineering interventions that they use to keep lines... Continue Reading

  • Forklift Battery Operators: Why Every Warehouse Needs One

    Companies that run one or two electric lift trucks generally rely on forklift operators to change batteries. As the fleet begins to grow, however, it starts to make more sense to create a new position at the warehouse: the forklift battery operator, sometimes also called a battery room manager or even a battery changer (note that we reserve that last... Continue Reading

  • Electric Forklifts in Multichannel Retail Facilities

    Brick-and-mortar retailers that run e-commerce channels out of existing stores have a competitive advantage, especially if they operate multiple locations. The combined retail space/distribution center offers retailers incredible access to customers, whether they’re picking items up in the store or having them shipped directly. There is one challenge, however: Space. The retail store and the distribution center have totally different... Continue Reading

  • Preparing the Forklift Battery Room for DC Peak Season

    Every retailer has a peak season, and distribution centers are no different. Certainly, the peak can differ between one outlet and another — an office-supply store may experience peak season during the final days of the summer, when parents stock up for back-to-school season, while most general ecommerce DCs brace for the winter holidays. Whenever peak-to-average order ratios soar, it’s... Continue Reading

  • Park & Charge Technology for Electric Forklifts: Required Support Equipment

    There is a lively debate between proponents of conventional forklift battery charging and those of fast charging, or park & charge, technology. As with any competing technology, there’s no easy answer about which system is superior. Different fleets have different needs, and that means either type of technology could be a better fit. That said, here are some of the... Continue Reading

  • Solving the Forklift Battery Room Power Puzzle

    A lot of disparate pieces go into an efficient battery charging area, especially when it comes to power distribution. Facilities should be free to add and remove chargers whenever they need to, without the expense and delay of bringing in electricians for every change. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just plug in a forklift battery charger like a... Continue Reading

  • Electrical Distribution for Forklift Battery Rooms

    Every battery room has distinctive power requirements, but these can change as operations grow. Don’t just wire the charging areas for your current needs; plan ahead for future changes — or, even better, ongoing expansion. Powering The Fleet’s Power Source Think of the battery charging area as the power source for your entire forklift fleet. In a way, charging systems... Continue Reading

  • Designing a Better Forklift Battery Room

    So you’ve decided you need a new battery room. Maybe your current battery charging area is outdated, or perhaps your fleet is just now large enough to justify the expense. Regardless of the reason, your new battery room’s success depends on a great plan — from choosing the ideal location to optimizing equipment. Battery room planning tools from BHS help... Continue Reading

  • How to Safely Store Forklift Battery Chargers

    Battery room operators spend a lot of time researching the best ways to prolong the lives of forklift batteries. That’s a worthwhile goal, but don’t let it overshadow that other huge investment sitting in the battery room — the battery chargers themselves. OSHA regulations require protection for battery chargers, and there are significant operational costs associated with charger damage. Just... Continue Reading

  • Improving Access to Forklift Battery Chargers

    Is the design of your battery room holding your operation back? As valuable as battery room space can be, you need to make sure to protect access to battery chargers and other crucial equipment when planning your layout. Crowded battery rooms detract significantly from operational efficiency by placing obstacles between workers and the equipment in need of standard maintenance. If... Continue Reading

  • Optimizing Vertical Space in the Forklift Battery Room

    Warehouse space is at a premium. Between 2003 and 2012, U.S. commercial buildings added nearly 30 million square feet of warehousing and storage space, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. This increased demand forces facility managers to squeeze every available inch out of existing floor plans — especially in the forklift battery room. Battery rooms can contribute... Continue Reading