Truck of the people
December 1st 2008

In terms of bringing a new truck to market, five years might not seem particularly swift.

But Yale says deep market research is manifested by its new VT three and VF four wheel 1.5 to 2t electric trucks, designed to suit operators of all sizes. By putting in the legwork, the rest of the range will rollout in under 18 months, giving buyers the choice of 16 per cent energy savings or eight per cent productivity gains in an electric truck up to five tonnes. Brendan Coyne reports

This is a marketing driven truck," says Yale director of strategy – counterbalance, Ian Melhuish, about the single hardest element to define and refine in the new VT and VF series development. "The market research (part of a global customer research programme questioning 600 customers responsible for 10,000 trucks) took the most time." Melhuish says while each region had subtle differences, the feedback enabled Yale to define key attributes required by customers: Dependability, ergonomics, productivity, serviceability and low cost of ownership. The five pillars of wisdom, as he calls them, to support the structure of its next generation trucks.

For the VT and VF series, the research then focussed specifically on electric trucks, using 'key decision makers' owning 4,000 trucks to guide development. "We also took input from field teams, one-to-one discussions, focus group activities, prototypes and our own data on warranties and service support," says Melhuish. "And all of this data created a customer requirement statement, which was placed in one of the five pillars."

The five pillars: Ergonomics Of the five categories, says Melhuish, ergonomics was the trickiest to crack. "How do you tell an engineer to make a truck more ergonomic? What is it that you want? Speeds are easy, dimensions are easy: We've been making trucks for 80 years and employ hundreds of excellent engineers; but ergonomics? So you must start by setting targets for ergonomic design." He says Yale began by setting the relative position of the seat to the floor plate, the steering column to the driver, and the pedals to the feet, calling them the 'edimensions'.

"Then we built our first truck...

Out of wood... A mule truck with real components but adjustable to simulate the complete range: Just because trucks get bigger doesn't mean we do. So for the new range we had a common set of ergonomic dimensions and their modular components," Melhuish explains. "We then ran jury tests, customer tests, validation by ergonomic engineers – and this allowed us to verify our design." The research gave other valuable insights. Driver ingress and egress statistics, for example, showed that at least 50 per cent of drivers get on and off the truck every 10 minutes, that 46 per cent carry a clipboard, 33 per cent carry gloves, 25 per cent marker pens, 10 per cent carry tape guns. So the cab was designed around those statistics, with three point entry, a low step, and the controls arranged so that operators have to make minimal movement: the steering column on the left, the control panel on the right, with a fanned spread of buttons to match differing digit lengths from thumb to little finger.

The display is set up to the right, just above eye height, to create more space and remove distraction. "We don't need to look at the display like a car speedo," says Melhuish. "Why waste storage space with the display?" The space is duly filled with a slot for a clipboard, room for gloves, marker pens, mobile phones and other common driver accessories highlighted by Yale's research. It also has a 12v port to charge mp3 players or mobile phones where allowed on site.

The firm then built second set of trucks, designed for the fifth percentile Asian female, who is 1.6m tall through to the 95th percentile Nordic male, who is 1.94m tall, according to Melhuish. He says Yale then worked closely with its Finnish design company, ED Design, to hone driving positioning.

"We offset the seat from the centre line, then turned it by 2.5 degrees back for optimum forktip visibility driving forward," Melhuish explains. And what about reverse driving, what does the driver need here? "He needs," says Melhuish, "a nice reversing handle with a horn in it."

Lastly, in terms of ergonomics, the range also has a relatively low noise level of 95dBA and whole body vibration levels of 0.55m/s2, which Melhuish says is 50 per cent lower than the European requirement.

Productivity Productivity, as defined by Melhuish, is the result of energy: Energy in equals work out.

Yale terms this the 'e-balance'. However, efficient use of energy is vital to ensure commensurate productivity. He says Yale therefore set about refining intelligent control and motors, honing friction losses, improving drive train efficiency etc.

According to Melhuish, 80 per cent of power cable from previous range has been removed, and he claims Yale can add what he believes is the largest energy capacity on the market – a 900Ah modified battery for those who require maximum productivity.

The truck operates on two settings: HiP which delivers 8 per cent more productivity (but requires the equivalent extra energy to achieve it), and eLo which uses 16 per cent less energy. Yale calculates that on a single shift over five years, eLo will enable savings of over €800 per truck. As well as a direct financial saving, the eLo option also enables environmental savings, says Melhuish: "Those 5,000kWH extra power produce 5,000 kilos of CO2, the equivalent of 27,000 miles in your average car. Which is two thirds of the way around the world.

So there is a choice to be made by us all as to how we run our equipment and our businesses." Yale claims the eLo setting delivers the lowest possible energy consumption in each class (2.02Ah per VDI 2198 test cycle).

Cost, serviceability & dependability The final three pillars are inter-related.

Cost of ownership is influenced by serviceability and dependability to a degree – but 80 per cent of the cost of the truck over its lifetime is the driver. Of the remaining percentiles, fuel is addressed with e-Lo, leaving serviceability and dependability as outstanding factors in lowering cost of ownership.

For serviceability, Melhuish says the truck was tested against the International Society of Automotive Engineers Service Standards, and, he claims, it achieved the industry's highest score.

Part of its success, he says, is the fact that the floor plate is designed to be removed with no tools, and that all onboard diagnostics go through the display. "It's like having a laptop on your machine," says Melhuish. "Afterall, one of the customers is the technician." Dependability is relatively straightforward: high quality components; transmission 'sealed for life'; steel hoods and covers throughout; 100,000s of testing hours.

"All of this increases the design maturity of the truck," says Melhuish, "so that 12 months ago, when we started putting real hours on the trucks in real applications, we were confident of achieving the meantime between failure targets projected at the start of production."

VT & VF series at-a-glance Both models are available in short, medium and long wheelbase in lift capacities from 1.5 to 2.0 tonnes.

Accommodate a range of 48Volt DIN battery capacities from 460 – 750Ah and BS battery capacities from 595 – 900Ah all with side extraction option.

Universal battery change roller also available – suitable for all side exchange forklifts.

Users can determine the 'e-balance' of performance and energy consumption by selecting either the 'eLo' (energy saving) or 'HiP' (high performance) setting for their specific application.

Operator module accommodates 95 per cent of drivers, infinitely adjustable steering column with memory tilt and synchronous steering option.

New 'clear view' mast improves visibility by 20 per cent.

Yale claims the four wheel VF has the smallest turning circle in each capacity.

Yale claims eLo setting offers lowest possible energy consumption in each class (2.02Ah per VDI 2198 test cycle).

For further details, either call the number below, use the HSS reader enquiry service or visit: www.therightplace.eu.

More articles from Yale Europe Materials Handling: