Understanding and Lowering Your Fleet Costs

2nd Quarter 2015
Customer Newsletter
In This Issue:
Understanding and Lowering Your Fleet Costs with Fleet Manager
Forklift Safety Tips for Your Organization
Making a Splash in the Charleston, SC Market
Remembering Our Veterans on Memorial Day
Understanding and Lowering Your Fleet Costs
Whether it’s a telecommunications company or an equipment service company, at some
point, customers will ask a service business, “How can you provide the same level of
service for less money?”
The answer to this question lies in first understanding what you, as a customer, are
spending money on. For a telecommunications company, figuring this out is often as
simple as looking at a monthly phone bill. For an equipment service company that often
runs multiple service calls on dozens of pieces of equipment throughout the year (like
CMH Services!), it’s often much harder for a manger to determine just how much he or
she is spending and on what.
Enter CMH Services’ Fleet Manager software.
Fleet Manager is an easy-to-use, web-based tool that allows operations managers to
track how much money they are spending with CMH Services and on what pieces of
equipment. Fleet Manager makes it extremely easy to spot which pieces of equipment
are costing your operation the most money, and it can make it easy to spot trends and
issues in regards to the maintenance of your fleet.
When I started at CMH Services several years ago and was tasked with designing and
enhancing Fleet Manager, I was instantly excited. I knew it was a piece of software that
had the potential to drive better business decisions at our customers. The most
compelling part of the software to me, however, is that it shares unfiltered data from our
business system with our customers. This is a point that’s easy to overlook but should
not be - at CMH Services, we stand by the work we do and want our customers to see
all the data and information that we see. We feel acting with integrity and being honest
and open with the work we do leads to a stronger professional relationship for all parties
involved.
For more information on Fleet Manager and to sign up, contact your CMH Services’
sales associate.
Kevin Kazimir, IT Manager
Forklift Safety Tips for Your Organization
Safety is becoming increasingly important in the workplace. The cost of accidents
shows its effects in workman’s compensation cost, lost productivity, fines, and morale.
One out of six workplace fatalities is forklift related. OSHA estimates forklifts cause
about 85 fatal accidents per year; 34,900 accidents result in serious injury; 61,800 are
classified as non-serious. The Industrial Truck Association reports that there are
approximately 855,900 forklifts in the U.S. Therefore, over 11% of all forklifts will be
involved in some type of accident each year (assuming only one accident per forklift).
We provide a few tips on how to improve forklift safety:
•
Always perform a daily inspection on the equipment you will be using. This is an
OSHA requirement and should include, as a minimum, a check of brakes,
steering, controls, warning devices, mast, tires, and attachments.
•
Buckle your seat belt. A safety harness is required on certain pieces of
equipment as well.
•
Load should be stable and secure. Before picking up a load inspect it to be sure
it is stable and not likely to come loose or topple.
•
Carry loads with a slight backwards tilt; never with a vertical or forward tilt.
•
Lower load to travel height before moving (4 to 6 inches).
•
Drive slowly in wet or slippery conditions and proceed with caution.
•
Maintain a safe distance between your truck and other vehicles (three truck
lengths).
•
Lower all loads (especially heavy loads) slowly and stop them gently.
•
Take particular care when backing, braking, accelerating, or turning. The force
applied will alter the balance of your truck.
•
Be conscious of load swing and tail swing when carrying long loads.
•
Bring the lift truck completely to a stop before changing direction from forward to
reverse or vice versa.
•
Be especially careful operating around dock areas, traveling through open
doorways, and working around pedestrian traffic.
New technology can help to improve forklift safety. “Blue lights” or fork tip lights can
create a beacon that can be seen by pedestrians and other lift truck users, even around
corners or areas of restricted visibility. Monitoring devices such as Crown Infolink can
provide managers with information concerning who is operating the lift and how it is
being operated, as well as restricting operation to designated personnel.
Organization of work areas to include pedestrian aisles and well-marked crossways,
along with procedures to ensure proper caution and the use of appropriate clothing can
also make a difference.
Finally, a culture of safety is extremely important. Managers, employees, and visitors
must understand the safety requirements and that everyone is expected to take safety
seriously.
Dan McCullough, Branch Manager
Celebrating Our New Facility in the Charleston Market
CMH Services was proud to host a ribbon cutting and grand opening on March 19th,
2015 for our Charleston branch located at 3611 Ladson Road in Ladson, South
Carolina. We had a significant turn out with visitors and customers coming from as far
away as Savannah, Georgia. Attendees were entertained by local musical duo Don
Russo & Sara Ann, performing jazz favorites and various classic hits. Guests were also
treated to a cigar rolling station courtesy of Lianos Dos Palmas of Charleston. Arguably,
the most enjoyable part of the event was the delicious meal catered by Duvall Catering.
Several of our vendors attended the event, including IBCI/Enersys Battery, Schafer
Systems International, and Taylor Dunn. There was also a significant display of Crown
and Nissan equipment. Our North Charleston Councilman, Ron Brinson, also attended
to show support for the economic development in the area, as well as Ron Coward of
Coward-Hund Construction and Ted Chestnut their project manager.
Left to right: Ron Coward, Ted Chestnut, Ron Brinson, Patty Smith, Buddy Smith
Edward Gonsalves from Carroll Tire Company thanked us for our hospitality and
remarked, “That was a first class experience. We know that we are not your biggest
account, but to be treated like it really makes the difference, and is the reason we are
proud to use you for our equipment service and occasional purchases.”
Bob Formby, our Charleston Branch Manager, commented that none of this would be
possible if it was not for our great customers and the continued partnerships we share in
business. He shared his excitement with everyone at the branch when it comes to how
much they value their relationships with customers and desire to continue providing a
great customer experience.
All of us at CMH Services were excited to celebrate our growth with our valued
employees, vendors, and customers, and we thank everyone for attending.
Mark Brown, Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Community Corner – The Spirit of Memorial Day
Memorial Day is fast approaching, and I am looking forward to the food, fun, and
fellowship with family and friends. One of my fondest childhood memories is eating a
big piece of watermelon with the juice rolling down my arms, and, as night fell, running
with my cousins as we caught fireflies before falling on the ground to look at the stars
twinkling in the night sky. As a mother I want to re-create those types of happy
memories for my children, but, more importantly, I want them to know that the day is to
honor the troops that have died while protecting our country and our way of life.
Last Christmas CMH Services participated in our second annual Operation Gratitude
drive for our troops stationed overseas. We more than doubled the cash and donations
collected from the previous year. I was humbled to realize that insignificant items I use
every day are such a blessing to our troops. It is easy for me to be in the giving spirit
during the holidays; however, I am challenging myself to remember those blessings
regardless of the season.
Whether you spend Memorial Day at the beach, the mountains, or on the lake, I hope
you and your family have a safe and happy holiday.
" A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are
singing, and the lawn mower is broken."
- James Dent
Brenda Reese, Human Resources Manager