Against the background of global low-carbon transformation trend, more and more manufacturing plants, logistics parks and distribution centers are launching plans to replace their whole internal combustion forklift fleet with electric forklifts, to reduce operation carbon emissions and optimize long-term operation benefit. However, the full fleet transformation is not a simple one-time equipment replacement work, and systematic preliminary research and multi-dimensional assessment are required to avoid potential operation risks and unnecessary extra investment.

The first core consideration is full investigation of existing operation status and scenario demand. Teams need to sort out the detailed data of all current material handling equipment, including average daily working hours, main operation scenarios, maximum load demand, operation channel width and special environment requirements such as low temperature or dustproof demand, to avoid mismatching between new electric forklift models and actual use demands. It is not advisable to apply unified selection standard for all equipment under different working conditions, and targeted configuration can maximize the use efficiency of each unit.

The second key point is full life cycle cost accounting. Instead of only comparing the initial procurement cost of electric forklifts and traditional internal combustion forklifts, teams need to calculate the comprehensive cost within 3 to 5 years, including power grid transformation cost, charging facility deployment cost, daily power consumption expense, regular maintenance cost of electric equipment, as well as the saved fuel cost, exhaust gas treatment cost and annual inspection cost of traditional forklifts. Relevant local supportive policies for new energy logistics equipment can also be verified in advance, to make the budget plan more accurate and reasonable.

The third essential factor is site infrastructure adaptation assessment. Teams need to evaluate the existing total power load of the plant or warehouse, judge whether it can support the normal charging demand of all electric forklifts after transformation, and make reasonable planning for charging point layout combined with daily operation moving lines, to prevent charging facilities from occupying the normal loading and unloading channels and affecting the operation efficiency. Making full use of off-peak electricity price period at night to arrange centralized charging can also effectively reduce the long-term electricity cost.

The fourth non-negligible part is the pre-construction of operation and maintenance system. Relevant training for forklift drivers should be arranged in advance, to help them master the operation differences between electric forklifts and traditional internal combustion forklifts, and standardize daily use habits to extend the service life of equipment. Teams also need to complete the reserve of common vulnerable parts of electric forklifts, and establish a smooth response mechanism for daily fault maintenance, to avoid unexpected operation pause caused by equipment failure. It is also a reliable choice to arrange phased promotion after the preliminary research. Enterprises can select the high-frequency operation team to carry out pilot operation for 2 to 3 months, collect actual operation data and adjust the plan dynamically, then complete the full fleet transformation step by step, to reduce the transformation risk steadily.