The value of preventive maintenance for heavy material handling equipment

Preventive maintenance is particularly important for Kalle since his work involves collaborating with Kalmar's product development engineers to ensure that easy maintenance and serviceability are designed into Kalmar machines from the very beginning. Together with his team, he also helps design the preventive maintenance programs for Kalmar equipment. "Basically, our job is to oversee the continuous improvement of Kalmar machines so they can be maintained in a safe and efficient way," Kalle says.

Achieving expected lifetimes

 
Preventive maintenance is all about planning ahead and making calculated investments in service activities and parts that will bring positive returns through extended equipment lifetimes and maximum uptime. As a concrete example, Kalle points to a forklift truck being serviced at the workshop of the Kalmar Innovation Centre in Ljungby, Sweden.
 
"On these machines, the steering link arm is an important component that is subjected to a lot of wear and tear during the lifetime of the forklift. Eventually, the part will need to be replaced, but the aim for us at Kalmar is to utilise preventive maintenance to extend the service life of the part, or at the very least achieve its expected lifetime."
 
In the case of the steering link arm, the actual required preventive maintenance is very simple: Greasing the part at specified points in accordance with the maintenance program of the machine. "If you're not lubricating this component, it's certain that its lifetime will be shorter," Kalle notes. "So that's preventive maintenance at its simplest."
 
Machines such as reachstackers and forklifts include a wide range of components, systems and sub-assemblies that need preventive maintenance. Engine oil, fuel and oil filters and many other parts require regular checking and/or replacement. Safety plays an extremely important role in preventive maintenance, and Kalmar's maintenance checklists include numerous inspection points related to safety.
 
"It's very important that you have the correct technical skills, knowledge of the machine and training when doing these inspections," Kalle points out. "This way, we can deliver safety not only to the driver, but for everyone that is working around the machine."

 
Industry-leading expertise

 
Kalmar equipment is designed for long service lifetimes, but proper preventive maintenance is crucial in achieving this lifetime. The ultimate goal is to enable cost-effective operational uptime irrespective of the type, model and age of the machine.
 
"It's very important for us that the customers who have bought our machines can actually use them as planned, and that's the key to the Kalmar preventive maintenance program," says Kalle. "Sometimes during conversations with customers, they say to me that any competent technician can maintain, repair and service a Kalmar machine. That is true, but our own technicians will always have access to the latest version of our preventive maintenance schedule, ensuring that the machine is maintained in the best possible way."
 
Kalmar works continuously to update its preventive maintenance program based on real-world operational data from machines around the globe. "Any preventive maintenance activity includes a risk of overmaintaining the machine," notes Kalle. "So we're always trying to find the best balance between the invested time, lubricants and genuine parts going into the machine, and the financial return that our customers are getting for their investment. This really is the most important difference between a third-party service provider and a Kalmar technician doing service and repairs on our machines."

 View our webinar with Kalle explaning Preventive Maintenance >>