A problem many factories have to deal with when running a fleet of forklift trucks is finding a system that can deter driver abuse and therefore minimise damage. Nissan Forklift Wales provides and manages 26 trucks at the CELSA Steelworks in South Wales and was asked to find a solution to this exact problem.

Nissan Forklift Wales had to look no further than the Lamerholm ImpactManager, an easy to use, off-the-shelf solution that detects impacts and records event details such as date, time and driver ID. "The Lamerholm system ticked all the right boxes." says Andrew John. "We needed a system that was fully traceable but could also make the drivers take ownership of the problems of dangerous driving and start to act more responsibly, both for their own safety and that of their colleagues."

Out of the 26 trucks on the site, 9 were used across all departments and these needed to be monitored. The ImpactManager was installed and only authorised drivers, whose details were stored on the system, were given a keyfob that could start the allocated forklift. Time started and finished is recorded and if a collision occurs, the time, date and driver ID are also recorded and stored in the memory. Once a week the fleet manager from Nissan Forklifts downloads this information for analysis and reports back.

"Since the ImpactManager has been installed in July, we have seen a 50% reduction in chargeable damage." explains Andrew. "The drivers are now much more careful and recognise the need for responsible operation of the trucks."

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