When it comes to having your forklift serviced, is an in-house technician better? Or should you outsource forklift service? Read on to help you decide.
Do you rely on forklifts to lift and move heavy loads at your establishment? If so, it is important that you keep the machines in good working condition at all times.
Failure to take proper care of your forklifts may cause downtime, which may lead to loss of business. Like other forklift owners, you may be torn between having your equipment serviced by an in-house technician or outsourcing forklift service.
Should you Hire an In-House Technician?
There are many perks that come with hiring an in-house technician. Some major ones include the following:
Flexibility
Like other mechanical equipment, forklifts are bound to break down at some point. This could be because of normal use, misuse, or unforeseen issues. When forklift malfunctions happen, they often do so without warning.
Having an in-house technician means that someone is always present to help handle and correct issues the moment they happen. It may, or may not, take more time before a technician from your preferred forklift service arrives at your facility to attend to your equipment.
Has Specialized Skill and Knowledge
An in-house technician has the experience, knowledge, and skills required to provide maintenance and repairs on their own machines. This comes in handy in helping offer recommendations and fix issues not just on forklifts, but also on other machines used inside the company.
Has the Company’s Best Interests at Heart
There’s a sense of security that comes with knowing you are an official employee of a company. Since your in-house technician is included on your payroll, means they are likely loyal to your business.
They work hard to deliver the right services for the good of the company. They are clear on their role in helping uphold the company culture, values, and goals.
Should you Outsource Forklift Service?
There are some great advantages that come with hiring an in-house technician. But that does notmean that as a company owner, you should completely write off the option of outsourcing the same services.
Here are some advantages you can enjoy when outsourcing technicians for your company’s forklift service.
Reduced Costs
Imagine having to pay a monthly salary to an in-house employee yet there are only a few forklifts to service. This can prove uneconomical. When you outsource your forklift service, you only have to spend money when it is necessary for your forklifts to undergo servicing.
Increased Safety and Efficiency
External technicians are well-informed on various aspects of forklift operations, including safe load-handling and safety equipment checks. This helps to ensure safe and efficient operation of the equipment, to stay up to date on all OSHA safety standards.
Hire Experts in Forklift Maintenance
If you bring in someone new or buy newer machinery, you must spend money and time teaching the in-house technician through specialized training.
This, however, isn't the case when outsourcing. A forklift technician from an experienced forklift repair company, already has the expertise and knowledge needed to maintain and fix many different machines.
Also, they can make recommendations on improvements needed to get the most out of your forklift machinery.
Enhanced Convenience
You don’t always have to wait until there’s something wrong with a forklift to seek out a forklift repair specialist from an established company. If you seek them out from the word go, you will experience less downtime.
This way, you’ll be able to address potential issues on your forklifts earlier on before they become bigger problems.
Why Forklift Service Is Important
There’s a lot of time and money you will save when you schedule regular maintenance. Addressing issues in a proactive manner, compared to when you have to wait for something to break down before you can ask the technicians to come to fix the problem, makes more sense for keeping your machines up and running.
Here are some viable reasons forklift maintenance is so very important.
Increased Safety of Employees and Products
Often, you may hear of cases where an employee is involved in a serious accident because either the forklift brakes failed, or the forklift couldn’t carry the load as required.
Regular maintenance, along with properly trained forklift operators, helps prevent workplace injuries from happening.
Helps to Make Light Work of Heavy Tasks
Without a forklift, employers would have to devise other ways to make sure that a load moves from one place to another. Sometimes, this means using their own hands and backs or improvising with other inefficient simple tools.
Regular servicing of forklifts helps ease the burden by easily moving sizeable loads where they need to be and doing so without the physical labor of your employees.
Enhances Efficiency and Durability
Warehouse operations work better when they are in top condition. You can easily move products to areas that would be difficult to reach by hand. Regular servicing, by an experienced forklift mechanic, helps prolong the life of any machinery inside a warehouse or a storage facility.
The technician here is charged with making sure that the machines fluids are changed regularly, all fittings are greased to help reduce corrosion, and tires are replaced when necessary.
They determine that the brakes are checked frequently to avoid failure and all other moving components are lubricated so that the vehicle doesn’t make squeaking noises which can contribute to further tear and wear.
Preventative Maintenance Is Vitally Important to Keeping Your Forklifts Running Efficiently
When the forklifts aren’t working, it means that there will be delays in delivering customers' orders. This often translates into unhappy customers and reduced sales. Here, the common saying that ‘time is money’, proves true.
Whether to opt for an in-house technician or to outsource forklift service, depends on which option works best for you. With this detailed comparison, it will be much easier for you to make a well-informed final decision.
Visit our services page for more information on the preventive maintenance services we offer.
