Forklift telematics puts a monitoring unit on the truck and turns how the fleet is actually used into something you can see: who operated which machine, when, for how long, and what happened while they had it.
Most fleets are managed on assumption. Telematics replaces the assumption with a record, and the record is usually a surprise: the truck everyone calls the busy one is idle half the shift, and the impacts nobody reported are all on the same corner of the same aisle.
Acclaim Handling has serviced materials handling equipment since 1982, with our own engineers working from eight depots. Telematics sits alongside the servicing and fleet management we already provide.
What it records
Operator access control
A truck starts only for an operator whose card or PIN is registered, and only for the categories they are trained on. Untrained operation stops being a policy on a noticeboard and becomes something the machine will not permit.
Impact detection
Shock sensors log impacts with the force, the time and the operator. Damage that used to be discovered weeks later by an engineer is attributable the same shift, which changes behaviour faster than any amount of training does.
Utilisation
Key hours against travel hours against lift hours. This is the figure that tells you whether a fleet of nine is really a fleet of six, and it is where telematics usually pays for itself.
Pre-use checks
The daily check becomes a prompt on the truck that has to be completed before it will operate, with the answers logged. A missed check is visible rather than assumed.
Servicing and battery data
Hours based service scheduling from real hours rather than estimates, and on electric trucks, charging and battery condition data.
What it is actually for
Three things, in the order most customers find value.
Right sizing the fleet. Utilisation data almost always shows some machines are barely used. Handing one back at the end of a hire contract is a direct saving that repeats every month.
Reducing damage. Attributed impacts reduce impacts. Racking damage, door damage and machine damage are all cheaper to prevent than to repair.
Evidence. Access control, completed pre-use checks and training records held together are what an insurer or an HSE inspector asks for after an incident.
Tell us how many trucks, how many makes, and what you are trying to find out. We will tell you what is worth fitting and what it costs.
How it fits with fleet management
Telematics is the data. Fleet management is what gets done with it: service scheduling, thorough examination dates, contract ends, repair history and cost per machine in one place.
Mixed fleets
Telematics is not tied to one manufacturer. A yard running three makes of truck of different ages can be brought onto one system, which matters because a mixed fleet is exactly the situation where nobody has a clear picture.
Common questions
Does it work on older trucks?
Generally yes. Units can be retrofitted to most trucks, and the older machines in a fleet are often the ones where the data is most useful.
Do we have to monitor operators individually?
Access control and impact attribution are per operator by design, which has data protection implications you should handle properly. Utilisation and servicing data can be used at fleet level without identifying individuals.
What does it cost?
It depends on fleet size and which functions you want. Access control alone is a different proposition from full utilisation reporting. Tell us the fleet and we will price it.
Talk to us
Call 01708 861 414 or contact the team. Tell us how many trucks, how many makes and what you are trying to find out, and we will tell you what is worth fitting.
All prices ex VAT.
Tell us how many trucks, how many makes, and what you are trying to find out. We will tell you what is worth fitting and what it costs.
Forklift telematics: common questions
Eight depots across the UK
Our own engineers, out of our own depots - wherever you are, service comes from us.
Talk to us about Forklift Telematics
Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm.
Additional Services
Checkout our range of other machine services below
