DS Smith always has an overview of the fleet
DS Smith, a leading manufacturer of corrugated board, had issues with high repair costs for its fleet of fork lift trucks for a long time at its Oftringen site. Introduction of our ISM Online management system considerably reduced these costs whilst also improving safety in the warehouse.
Reduce repair costs through fleet management
British company DS Smith is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of corrugated board packaging and is represented in 37 countries - including Switzerland. 500 to 1000 pallets are loaded during 2-shift production every day at the Oftringen site, meaning that reliable intralogistics are of great importance. However, this has not always been in place: For a long time the Swiss had major problems with high repair costs for their fleet of fork lift trucks. For this reason, the decision was made in 2012 to equip the units with ISM Online fleet management system.
Maximum transparency and safety
The tool consists of four modules, of which DS Smith uses three. The core is the “Basic” standard module, which collates all master data from the fork lift trucks. Together with the “Safety” module, this provides a comprehensive overview of the state of the fleet, as the operators are expected to carry out a safety check before use. Technical defects are recognised in this way. In addition, the module switches off the fork lift trucks after a defined period of time due to inactivity, which prevents damage from being reported later. “This aspect was particularly important as we have two-shift-operations and every fork lift truck is assigned to two operators” says Josef Banz, Logistics & Lean Manager at the Oftringen site. This saves unnecessary costs and prevents unauthorised access to the forklift truck. The Swiss then added a third module, namely “productivity”. This analyses the utilisation of the fork lift trucks accurately and makes them work more efficiently.
65 percent less damage
“Defective trucks and batteries that were not charged during the change in shifts, are now finally a thing of the past.” explains Josef Banz regarding the positive changes since the introduction of ISM Online. DS Smith particularly appreciates the “Safety” module. “Amongst other things, it’s made staff more aware of the need for handling trucks responsibly. The repair costs have fallen dramatically and we have 65 percent less damage to units and warehouse facilities”, says Banz. It is even possible to detect damage to the warehouse floor as the system also records shocks to the trucks. Due to these safety procedures, the company has not had any accidents for several years.
