Most Australian industrial vehicle purchases come down to two, well, it’s two things really: payload capacity and what the thing costs. Both of them are important but on their own, neither paints a very complete picture. We end up overlooking the site conditions that affect how a vehicle does its job, the battery and power source choices that keep it running and the support we can rely on when things go wrong.
You’d Think the Most Obvious Step Would Be to Figure Out the Site
But we skip that bit and just describe the site as a general ‘inside, a bit outside’ sort of thing. That tells the supplier next to nothing. The important questions are, are we talking concrete, compacted gravel, asphalt or grass? Any hills or grades beyond just a slight incline? And are there any tight corners that will affect how the vehicle turns? The floor and gradient of the site will tell you a whole lot about what kind of drive system and tyres you can use. Buy on payload alone and you might find you’ve bought a vehicle that does just fine on flat floors indoors but is struggling to cope with everything else on the same site.
Duty cycle is another thing that gets left out of the picture. The things the vehicle is carrying at peak times are different from what it’s carrying most of the time and that gap between the two is what will drive decisions on battery selection, motor spec and how quickly wear and tear catches up with the vehicle. But procurement decisions made around maximum payload end up with vehicles that are technically capable but will just end up too big and too costly and with more maintenance headaches than the application really needs.
The Power Source Decision Is Way More Complicated Than It Looks
Everyone thinks it’s just a case of electric or petrol but within electric, lithium and lead acid are two completely different stories. Lithium batteries have roughly four times the energy density of lead-acid ones, for example, and at least double the lifespan. Plus they don’t need watering or equalising. Now that makes a big difference over time, having a whole fleet of lead-acid batteries in a high-use situation is just going to add up in terms of maintenance.
Lithium also lets you do opportunity charging, so you can just top up the battery at a break in the day, lead acid needs a full charge cycle. In places where people are working long shifts or multiple shifts a day, that flexibility can be the difference between one vehicle and having to buy a spare just to cover downtime.
Industry Context Makes A Big Difference to What A Vehicle Needs to Do
In a hospital, for example, zero-emission, quiet operation is not a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have. Noise and fume exposure in clinical environments are regulated, so you get vehicles specifically designed for that sort of job, with motors and enclosures to match. Trying to take a standard off-the-shelf utility vehicle and adapt it to that sort of environment just tends to cause problems.
In the hospitality business, meanwhile, it’s likely to be all about passenger capacity, protection from the weather and looking pretty, alongside function. The team over at industrialvehicles.com.au deal with a huge range of industries from mining and construction to government and councils, so it’s a whole different ball game every time.
The Importance of Authorised Distribution Is Greater Than You Would Expect at The Time of Purchase
There is no doubt that grey-market or non-authorised vehicles will present you with a predictable challenge: the availability of parts. In case some part breaks down, and you do not have the authorised distribution support to help you in Australia, there are issues of international lead time, third-party compatibility and warranty claims which will not always be covered. If you depend on your operations on such type of vehicles, you take a lot of risks.
Authorised distribution is about the availability of parts locally, local service and warranty that does not make you wait for a time you can afford. industrialvehicles.com.au acts as an authorised distributor for the products in its range and this defines the speed and reliability of parts and technical support.
Fleet Versus Single Vehicle
Trying to allocate one vehicle for each task performed on the premises usually implies some compromises on every task. The practice of a mixed fleet, which implies assigning specific tasks for specific vehicles, works better than trying to use one vehicle for everything in terms of efficiency and costs of maintenance. The situation might be different for budget constraints but the idea deserves consideration.
In many cases, the customisation is the point where decisions for fleet management are taken properly or improperly at the last minute. Extensions of trays, protective covers, lights and cargo handling solutions should not be optional but necessary.
