Capital Equipment News June 2015

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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS JUNE 2015 24
As businesses across the globe are
looking to go greener, Woolworths
sought an innovative partner to grow
and revolutionise their supply chain whilst
reducing their carbon footprint. The retail
group chose to standardise their ware-
house equipment with the global market
leader, Toyota Forklift and BT materials
handling equipment.
In addition to the existing Toyota forklifts
in Woolworths’ fleet, three wheel electric
forklifts were supplied as well as IPX4 rated
four wheel electric forklifts, which are the
world’s first electric forklifts with the abili-
ty to operate in the rain. BT Reach trucks,
order pickers and LPE power pallet trucks
also complemented the supply of the elec-
tric counterbalanced trucks.
About three years ago, Woolworths was oper-
ating 50 units with five different vendors over
three sites.“Our fleet had been purchased on an
ad-hoc basis and specifications had never been
standardised. A renewal program was initiated
with the following primary aims in mind; one na-
tional MHE vendor, standardised national spec-
ifications and clear end to end costing. Toyota
Forklift offered these as well as a relationship
that allowed for mutual growth,” described Mi-
chael-John Newham fromWoolworths.
“We delivered material handling equipment
according to the customer’s specifications
which was fitted with world leading and first
in the country Trak air system batteries and
chargers with Battery WIQ, a wireless moni-
toring tool for the batteries,” explained Leric
Smith, Product Manager for Toyota Forklift.
Woolworths is known for its passion in qual-
ity and innovation as well as bringing in new
concepts to ensure safety in the warehouse.
The retail group introduced Tyri BluePoint
LED lights for use in their warehouses. The
coloured concentrated light beam displays a
large and visible square on the floor in front
or behind the machine to alert workers that
a machine is approaching. This industry
leading concept allows safety to be visual in-
stead of relying solely on sirens and alarms,
especially in loud noisy workplaces where
hearing is difficult.
Woolworths went on to select Toyota Fork-
lift’s equipment because of their internation-
al award winning Toyota I-site fleet manage-
ment solution which would further increase
safety levels in their warehouses.
Toyota I_Site is an advanced fleet manage-
ment business solution that helps companies
optimise their fleet size by increasing safety,
reducing cost and improving productivity.
“Continuous customer support for Toyota
I_Site is available from trained and certi-
fied specialists,” notes Smith. “The various
features of this system all help to improve
efficiencies and give information to ensure
proper and informed central management of
the entire fleet,” he adds.
According to Newham, the new machines
have improved cross docking efficiencies
ensuring product is loaded quickly, safely
and on time. The retail giant is now able to
move three picking bins at a time instead
of only one bin with the previous machines.
“Pallet put-aways and retrievals are a lot
faster as well as smoother lift speeds,
thanks to the modern equipment,” he adds.
“Longer operating times on all equipment
also improved with all equipment being AC
power and the addition of TRAK Air char-
gers. The inclusion of the I-site system and
access to Toyota Forklift’s well-trained and
managed support services has allowed the
partnership to grow and enrich both parties,”
noted Newham. “The tools available on this
system ensure correct spread of equipment
is being used to ensure maximum uptime.”
“The pre-check op devices installed on
Woolworth’s machines play a big role in as-
sisting a business go green as it saves paper
and ensures drivers do their daily checks;
a legal requirement, and to make sure the
equipment they are about to operate is safe
to use. Equipment is thus properly looked
after, increasing the life span of the equip-
ment,” advises Smith. “This system helps
achieve an initial upfront investment saving
and lowers cost of abuse and inefficiency
costs over the term,” he concludes. b
TOYOTA FORKLIFT
helping Woolworths go greener