steel industry: how lift truck innovation can improve your bottom … · how lift truck innovation...

Steel Industry:

How lift truck innovation can

improve your bottom line

Keywords: Forklift, Innovation, Technology,

Materials Handling, Steel Handling, Steel

Industry, Steel Mill, Lift Truck, Attachments,

Powertrains, Engines, Fuel Savings, Operating

Cost, Productivity, Damage Reduction, Vision

Systems, Tire Savings

How Lift Truck Solutions can


Introduction

Manufacturing steel involves complex and heavy duty

materials handling processes. In these processes, lift trucks

play a key role moving raw materials such as iron, as well as

semi-finished and finished steel products, including steel

coil, pipe, slabs, long bars, billets or pipes. Whether a lift

truck is transporting a semi-finished product to the next

production step or a finished item to shipping it is of upmost

importance that the product is moved on time, or the

production process may stall or halt, requiring that the lift

truck to be a dependable workhorse of many production

locations.

Even though lift trucks are integral to the successful and

continuous production cycles, mill operators often do not

wish to focus on the procurement or up-keep of these

machines. Several reasons can be listed for this behavior,

but most noteworthy are the mill operator’s desire to focus

on their core business of steel making. Another factor is that

the cost of running lift trucks only represents a small portion

of the overall operating budget of a steel mill. Nonetheless,

today steel mills are operated on very tight budgets and it is

important to make every dollar count. This leads to the need

of minimizing the cost per ton of steel shipped. Newer

material handling technologies and innovations can drive

cost savings in this area. This paper discusses such

improvements and provides a cost savings analysis for

different cost categories.

Steel producers

need to minimize

the cost per ton of

steel shipped. New

material handling

technologies and

innovations can

drive cost savings

in this area.



DISCUSSION

Cost example and savings opportunities of a typical

steel material handling operation

So what are the typical costs to operate a lift truck? That

depends on your particular operation, but let us take, for

example, a 65,000lb coil handling lift truck. The truck’s

acquisition cost runs, on average, about $450,000. If the

equipment is used 3,000 hours a year, the amortization cost

of this investment translates to $60,000/year, or $20/hour.

The estimated operating cost of such a machine is

$138,000/year or $46/hour. The operating costs include

items such as fuel, tire replacements, and periodic

maintenance and repair including parts and labor. In

addition, labor cost for the lift truck operator, damage to the

equipment, facility and products moved, as well as fees for

rental equipment in the case of unscheduled downtime can

occur. Adding up all described material handling costs leads

to an estimated total coil handling expense of $416,000/year

or $138.67/hour as can be seen in table 1. In this example,

the cost of a fleet of four coil handling lift trucks totals

$1,664,000/year.

Opportunities to reduce expenses can be categorized in four

main areas. Reducing operating cost by decreasing fuel

consumption, optimizing periodic maintenance or prolonging

tire life is one area. Another area is increasing productivity.

This can be achieved by eliminating ‘double handling’ or in

other words optimizing the transport, storage and shipping

logistics in an operation. Ultimately, the more productive a lift

truck is, the less lift trucks and operators are needed to get

Cost savings

opportunities can

be categorized in

four main areas:

general operating

costs, increased

productivity,

improved uptime,

and reduced

damage to product,

equipment and

facility.

Steel material

handling costs

include the typical

operating costs of

lift trucks, such as

fuel and periodic

maintenance, but

operator labor cost

and rental fees

should be included

into a holistic cost

estimate.



the job done. Improved uptime, the third area of interest,

leads to reduced ‘back up’ rental costs and avoiding costly

unscheduled downtime. Lastly, reducing damage to the

product, equipment and the facility can greatly reduce

material handling operating budgets.

Table 1: Total coil handling costs per lift truck

Lift truck innovations and new technologies that can


New technologies continuously emerge and innovations are

developed that make the way materials are handled more

efficient. The following section outlines a number of

improvements in powertrain technology, hydraulic systems,

65,000# coil truck 3000 hrs / yr

cost / hour cost / year 4 truck fleet savings cost / year 4 truck fleet

Unit (amortized capital cost) 20.00$ 60,000$ 240,000$

Operating Cost

Fuel 16.00$ 48,000$ 192,000$ 20% 9,600$ 38,400$

Tires 6.00$ 18,000$ 72,000$ 0% -$ -$

Tire damage 12.00$ 36,000$ 144,000$ 50% 18,000$ 72,000$

PM parts + labor 4.00$ 12,000$ 48,000$ 10% 1,200$ 4,800$

Repairs parts + labor 8.00$ 24,000$ 96,000$ 25% 6,000$ 24,000$

SUB-TOTAL 46.00$ 138,000$ 552,000$ 25% 34,800$ 139,200$

Rental for unscheduled downtime 4.00$ 12,000$ 48,000$ 20% 2,400$ 9,600$

Product damage 5.33$ 16,000$ 64,000$ 20% 3,200$ 12,800$

Facility damage 3.33$ 10,000$ 40,000$ 20% 2,000$ 8,000$

Driver 40.00$ 120,000$ 480,000$ 20% 24,000$ 96,000$

Other MH labor 20.00$ 60,000$ 240,000$ 20% 12,000$ 48,000$

GRAND TOTAL 138.67$ 416,000$ 1,664,000$ 19% 78,400$ 313,600$



tire protection, steel-handling attachments, visibility & vision,

as well as telemetry & fleet management systems.

New powertrain and hydraulic system technologies

When it comes to lift truck engines, bigger is not always

better, especially when attempting to reduce fuel

consumption and overall operating costs. “Right-sized”

smaller displacement engines to match the demand of loads

carried while not losing productivity is an innovative

approach pursued by some lift truck manufacturers today.

Many lift trucks have utilized large engines to be able to

simultaneously power the maximum demands of the

hydraulic system and the powertrain. New innovative load

management systems are able to best distribute power to

where it is most needed based on the driver’s input. This

enables the use of smaller and more efficient ‘right-sized’

engines. The benefits of the smaller engines are wide. Fuel

cost is one of the highest contributors of operating cost for lift

trucks. Significantly reduced fuel consumption is possible

with the smaller engines as well as lower maintenance costs;

quieter operation; and lower emissions levels.

Some other technologies are enablers for load management

and right-sizing of engines. ’On-demand’ and automation

technologies aim to reduce fuel consumption, and may also

reduce maintenance cost and parts consumption. On-

demand cooling, for example, allows the cooling fan to

draw power only when cooling is required. Traditional direct

drive fans draw high levels of power at all times. This

innovative feature reduces accessory loads on the

powertrain, consumes less fuel and lowers noise levels.

New engine

technology with

computer guided

load management

systems offer a

range of benefits,

including fuel

savings, lower

maintenance cost

and lower emission

levels.



Automatic throttle-up provides automatic response to lift

inputs from the operator when the lift lever is activated. The

driver’s input for hydraulic power automatically increases the

engine speed to the efficient “sweet spot”, delivering good

fuel economy. Given the improved operator ergonomics, this

feature also helps enhance operator productivity. Other

money-saving strategies attempt to minimize wasted engine

idle time. 20-40% of the time lift trucks are in use, the

engine operates in idle mode as the operator is waiting for

something, or has left the cabin. Empty seat engine

shutdown reduces fuel consumption by shutting down the

truck when the operator is out of the seat for extended

periods of time, thus limiting idle hours on the truck. Less

idling can help decrease the frequency of periodic

maintenance. Hibernate Idle automatically reduces the idle

speed when no demand is placed on the engine, leading to

up to 20-30% less fuel consumption during idle times.

Selectable operating modes allow the operations manager

to choose a high-performance mode to maximize

performance versus an economy mode to minimize fuel

consumption, whichever is most desired in the mill operation.

Finally, newer transmission designs can feature: Low

internal resistance for high efficiency; additional gears to

allow operation at lower engine speeds; protection systems

that help prevent damage (reduced performance or

shutdown if parameters are out of normal range).

Transmissions can contribute to an additional 5% fuel

reduction.



“On-Demand” load sensing hydraulics delivers hydraulic

oil flow only when required, unlike fixed-displacement (gear

pump) systems, which are continuously pumping oil whether

Picture 1: Variable Displacement Pump

it is needed or not. A variable displacement pump, capable

of more oil displacement even at low engine speeds, means

the engine runs at lower rpm, extending the life of

components while operating quieter. The system consumes

up to 10% less fuel than a fixed displacement hydraulic

system while producing less heat. Since less oil is flowing,

the oil and filters last longer; hoses, seals and components

also wear less and last longer since the system produces

much less heat. In recent years hydraulic systems also

featured O-ring face seal fittings which are virtually leak-free,

reducing maintenance and repair needs. Newly developed

fire resistant hydraulic oils are an important feature for hot

steel handling applications. These oils are also bio-

degradable and environmentally friendly, reducing the need

for leak clean-up.



Tire Saving Technologies

Next to the operator and the fuel consumption, tire damage

is often the next largest cost to operate a lift truck. Lift trucks

moving steel products represents an application that is

extremely harsh on lift truck tires. Poor ground conditions in

steel mills such as sharp debris (metal strapping, scrap

pieces) or coil edges lying in the lift truck’s driving path can

cause tearing of tires driving over them.

Long bar and other finished or semi-finished steel product is often stored on I-

beams or bolsters that can protrude into the pathway of the lift truck and are

frequently run into or over. Sidewall damage (cutting) to the tires or rims occurs.

Tire damage due to

poor ground

conditions or

obstacles

protruding into the

pathway is often a

sizeable cost

contributor to lift

truck operations in

steel applications.

Picture 3: Storage beams that

protrude into the trucks pathway Picture 2: Debris can be found

in the lift truck’s path

Picture 4: Tire damage example



A tire shield, originally developed for military applications, can help reduce tires’

side-wall damage. As can be seen in the pictures, the shields are mounted on

the rim of the tire, forming an obstacle to objects the tire could run into. Steel

manufacturers typically buy less expensive tires, as they get damaged before

reaching an expected lifetime and wear. Because the tire shield can reduce tire

damage and allow the tire to wear up to the expected life span, it can reduce total

tire cost by up to 50%.

Picture 5: Tire shields

Selecting the right truck and steel handling attachments

While attachments aren’t new to the steel industry, design

improvements have increased the acceptability to a broader

range of users. Along with the correct selection of the lift

truck and attachment used to handle steel product, these

design improvements can have a major impact on operating

costs by way of improving productivity, and also reducing

damage to the product and the lift truck. Important factors

that influence the attachment selection are the type of

product moved, whether hot or cold steel product is handled,

the way products are stored/stacked; how many rows deep

and levels high the product is stacked, and how wide are

existing aisles which determines how the truck can approach

the product for pick-up and turn around in the aisle. Lastly,

Tire shields form an

obstacle to objects

the tire can run into.

This helps prevent

tire damage.



how important is selectivity of certain product versus

applying a first-in – last-out method for example?

Use of a Reachstacker versus a forklift

In certain applications the use of a reachstacker rather than

a forklift can increase productivity and throughput, potentially

leading to a smaller fleet of lift trucks and operators required

to get the job done.

While the use of a forklift has certain advantages over a

reachstacker, such as lower acquisition, cost higher travel

speeds and the flexibility to pick up other goods when

needed, it also may be less maneuverable, requiring larger

aisles and can only pick from the first row which means that

rows cannot be ‘stacked deep’ and therefore get rather long.

Both factors lead to larger storage areas and longer travel to

the pick spot.

Picture 6: Low-density storage used with lift trucks versus high-density storage used

with reachstackers.

The correct

selection of the lift

truck and the steel

handling

attachment for the

operation can

influence cost by

way of improving lift

truck productivity.

A reachstacker can

reduce travel times

to pick spots and

allow for higher

density storage,

which can lead to

increased

productivity

depending on the

application.



A reachstacker however can stack product (i.e. coil) three or

more rows deep. It also can use its rotator to position or pick

up the load without having to fully turn in the aisle. Both, the

smaller aisle width and the deeper stacking method allow

higher density storage, cut down on travel time to a

designated storage or pick spot; and ultimately increase

productivity. It also allows for selective picking (see graphic

below). However, a yard laid out for reachstackers may

require a back-up machine to keep the operation running

during downtime of the first reachstacker.

Picture 7: Reach truck handling high-density stacked coils

Example multiple coil storage:

Green coils: Can be picked by Reachstacker or Forklift

Yellow coils: Can only be picked by Reachstacker

Red coils: Requires other coils to be removed first

Goal: Reduce number handlings per coil to prevent

damage



Picture 8: Example of coil storage

Multiple ram attachments

When moving multiple coils, improved productivity can be

achieved by using a double or multiple ram attachments.

Double or multiple rams may handle more coils per move but

can depend on parallel production output or loading

sequence. Using extendable multirams can improve load

handling accuracy and eases tractor or train loading. Rams

are available for forklifts or reachstackers.

Pictures 9 and 10: Multi-ram attachments

Moving more coils

at a time with

multiple ram

attachments can

improve load

handling accuracy

and eases tractor or

train loading.



Magnet Attachments

Using magnet attachments can be a fast and easy steel

handling solution. Many different types of magnet

attachments are available, but most often magnets are used

to move slabs, plates or pipes.

Picture 11: Magnet attachments

Using magnet attachments can help reduce product damage

as the product does not bounce on the forks when traveling

over uneven ground. The need for wood spacers between

slabs to store product is eliminated, which may be an

opportunity to reduce staff that would have to handle the

placement of the slabs on the stack during the stacking

operation. Fewer pedestrians around a truck in operations

also mean less opportunity for accidents. The attachment

also allows for high versatility as it can pick up all kinds of

slabs, blooms or billets. Because magnets are always over

the load, trucks need less space to turn into the stack,

allowing a higher stacking density due to smaller aisles and

increasing productivity by cutting travel time.



Typically, magnet handling uses bigger trucks and can

handle more loads at a time, reducing the number of lift

trucks and operators needed.

Things to consider when choosing a magnet attachment is

whether or not power for the attachment will come from the

lift truck or an independent power supply (generator) carried

by the truck. Magnets can typically handle hot slabs up to

approximately 400°F. To handle hotter product, a special

magnet core is required.

Overall, a magnet attachment solution can offer reduced

operating cost, less product damage and improved logistics

and productivity, but those advantages should be weighed

against higher attachment acquisition costs and the need for

back-up.

Clamps and hydraulic pipe stabilizers

Clamp attachments (or hydraulic stabilizers) are mounted on

the lift truck’s carriage and connected with the forks. To

prevent pipes from falling off, the stabilizer pushes down on

the pipes loaded on the forks. The attachment can also

retract and push pipes from or onto the stack/bundle, easing

pick-up and drop-off. This method is particularly popular in

bulk handling applications and many different models and

functions are available today.

Highly versatile

magnet

attachments can

reduce product

damage and

eliminate the need

for wood spacers.

It is important to

consider where the

power for the

magnet attachment

will come from and

the maximum

temperature of

slabs.



Pictures 12, 13 and 14: Clamps and hydraulic stabilizers

Advantages of using pipe stabilizers are increased

productivity and faster throughput, which is important in bulk

handling operations. Because pipes are held in position and

are less likely to roll off, the use of the stabilizers may result

in less product damage.

Vision Systems

Operating big lift trucks carrying large loads can cause

critical point visibility to be reduced. Limited visibility in turn

can lead to product, lift truck and facility damage, because

the truck can run into obstacles invisible to the operator. A

camera system with display in the operator compartment can

help alleviate the problem and offer multiple critical

viewpoints to the operator. These cameras can be mounted

on the truck front, side or rear to offer visibility

improvements.

Clamp attachments,

or hydraulic

stabilizers, make

pick-up and drop-off

easier by pushing

down on the loaded

pipes and pushing

pipes from or onto a

stack.

A camera system

with display in the

operator

compartment can

offer critical

viewpoints to the

operator, thus

reducing product,

lift truck and facility

damage.



Pictures 15 and 16: Vision Systems

Tracking and fleet management

Since steel mill operations are measured on productivity and

cost management, a proper lift truck fleet management

program for the operation is a key element to support overall

productivity and bottom line savings over the long term.

Effective lift truck fleet management requires proper

understanding of the material handling needs of the

operation, managing and measuring the current equipment’s

performance and correcting and adjusting the fleet or

material handling parameters for continual improvement.

Telematics devices provide remote visibility to the forklift’s

productivity, i.e. its utilization, which allows tracking

operation costs more closely. Many telematic systems on the

market today also make other vital truck statistics available,

such as fault codes or impact alerts along with exact hour

meter readings helping to determine when precisely the next

periodic maintenance is due. Not performing unnecessary

periodic maintenance or being able to pin-point an operator

that repeatedly damages the product and equipment through

impact can help lower overall operating costs.

Lift truck fleet

management is a

key tool to support

overall productivity

and bottom line

savings over the

long term. Costs

can be tracked

more closely using

telematics devices

to track the forklift’s

productivity.



Conclusion

In review, multi-faceted cost savings can be realized through

the proper application and implementation of improved or

innovative technologies available today. In the operational

cost category improvements of up to 50% can be realized by

reducing tire damage, fuel costs and optimizing periodic

maintenance. Additional benefits resulting from improved

storage lay-outs, shorter shuttle runs and higher density, as

well as an optimized fleet size reducing equipment and labor

cost can contribute to total bottom line improvements. Table

2 visualizes the initial cost categories identified in this paper

and adds the estimated cost savings to each.

Table 2: Estimated Cost Savings realized through improved or innovative

technologies. These cost savings are based on estimates provided at the publication

date. Your particular costs may vary based on pricing variables and operational

parameters at your facility.

65,000# coil truck 3000 hrs / yr

cost / hour cost / year 4 truck fleet savings cost / year 4 truck fleet

Unit (amortized capital cost) 20.00$ 60,000$ 240,000$

Operating Cost

Fuel 16.00$ 48,000$ 192,000$ 20% 9,600$ 38,400$

Tires 6.00$ 18,000$ 72,000$ 0% -$ -$

Tire damage 12.00$ 36,000$ 144,000$ 50% 18,000$ 72,000$

PM parts + labor 4.00$ 12,000$ 48,000$ 10% 1,200$ 4,800$

Repairs parts + labor 8.00$ 24,000$ 96,000$ 25% 6,000$ 24,000$

SUB-TOTAL 46.00$ 138,000$ 552,000$ 25% 34,800$ 139,200$

Rental for unscheduled downtime 4.00$ 12,000$ 48,000$ 20% 2,400$ 9,600$

Product damage 5.33$ 16,000$ 64,000$ 20% 3,200$ 12,800$

Facility damage 3.33$ 10,000$ 40,000$ 20% 2,000$ 8,000$

Driver 40.00$ 120,000$ 480,000$ 20% 24,000$ 96,000$

Other MH labor 20.00$ 60,000$ 240,000$ 20% 12,000$ 48,000$

GRAND TOTAL 138.67$ 416,000$ 1,664,000$ 19% 78,400$ 313,600$

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