Industrial Computers Help Electric Vehicles

Electric Vehicle Usage On The Rise

The use of electric cars is quickly becoming commonplace around the globe, with the adoption of such vehicles being seen in nearly every industrialized country. In 2018 alone, the amount of electric vehicles in use nearly doubled from the previous year to 5.1 million according to the International Energy Agency, an autonomous intergovernmental organization.

 

With such a meteoric rise in the consumer use of such vehicles, we cannot discount their viability in the industrial space. Electric vehicles are not only better for the environment, but also better for the productivity of the industrial sector. Integrating electric cars and electric vehicles into your industrial or warehouse space can lead to boosts in productivity and worker  health.

 

Electric Vehicles: Not Just For Commuters

When one thinks about electric vehicles, thoughts gravitate towards the big name electric car companies that are seemingly always in the headlines. While these companies are making great strides in the mileage range and cost of consumer electric vehicles, other companies have been innovating electric vehicles for industrial use under the radar. In fact, many industrial vehicles—from forklifts to personnel carriers— have electric vehicle variants ready for use.

touchscreen industrial computer
F15 Touchscreen Industrial Computer

These vehicles are less noisy, and more versatile than their combustion engine counterparts. The lack of a noisy combustion engine makes these vehicles the perfect platform for mobile working. When paired with touchscreen industrial computers with programmable function keys, electric vehicles become the ultimate mobile workstation. Allowing for one hand use, touchscreen industrial computers plug directly into your electric vehicle and connect directly to your warehouse management system or network.

 

Better For The Environment, Margins, And Workers

Everyone knows that electric cars are better for the environment, but as an added bonus  they are also better for margins. The cost to operate electric vehicles is half the price of combustion engine vehicles, according to the U.S. Department Of Energy, owing in part to the relatively stable price of electricity compared to oil-based fuels. Electric vehicles can take out the worry about how fluctuations in the global oil supply will affect your operating expenses, cutting travel costs in half and normalizing your budget—all while giving you the peace of mind knowing that your company has made a small step towards a greener future.

 

In addition, electric vehicles are safer to operate than their older combustion engine relatives. Electric cars are favored by consumers not only for their low operating cost and environmental impact, but also their lack of dangerous fume exhaust. Prolonged exposure to exhaust such as carbon monoxide can lead to serious health complications, including heart problems and brain damage. Fumes spit out by traditional industrial vehicles can slowly cause these health problems for your workers, leading to increased medical expenses or worse. Electric vehicles offer a safe, promising alternative to a workplace problem damaging the environment, margins, and workers.

 

Electric Vehicles: The Future, Today

Electric vehicles are poised to take over the transportation sector, and industrial vehicles are no exception to this. When upgrading your fleet to include electric vehicles, make sure your workers get the most out of this investment by equipping them with touchscreen industrial computers

All About Forklift Computers

All About Forklift Computers

Forklifts first came about in the early twentieth century and their practical purpose didn’t change much over the years; they picked up freight, moved it from one short distance to another or from ground level to higher storage spaces. Although the forklift’s intended functionality was fairly simplistic, continued warehouse process improvement efforts coupled with technological progress eventually enveloped this modest warehouse vehicle into a new role: inventory management and asset tracking. By placing an industrial grade computer on the unit, a forklift operator was able to scan items as they were being stored.  A forklift computer’s primary objective is now to help organize an active warehouse facility, sending real-time information to logistics operations or to an inventory information database. This is a huge boon to organizations like home improvement stores who have to move and replenish stock several times a day.

Forklift mounted computers have been attempted for at least a dozen years, but they were bulky and difficult to use while a worker was also trying to operate the vehicle. More space effective, customizable all-in-one touchscreen computer formats like ones offered by Tangent are making it easy to complete repeated tasks and keep the small cab of the vehicle free of clutter and cabling. The Tangent F15 industrial all-in-one touchscreen computer was specifically created with forklift mounting and use in mind. Chief amongst it’s notable features is ten programmable function keys on the front panel. This allows the forklift operator to complete several repeatable tasks at the touch of a button, which means being able to work without requiring both hands and doing it safely. Wireless and bluetooth capabilities allow users to connect to networks and databases without the need for an ethernet cable connection. The construction of the Tangent F15 computer also lends itself to industrial warehouse conditions. The enclosure is completely sealed and rated at IP65 for being protected against water and dirt intrusion. The bright orange casing makes the unit easy to identify within the forklift cockpit, and easy to see the buttons for one-handed use when the operator is multi-tasking. The casing is designed for mounting on forklift applications with M8 heavy duty screws, and the computer has been tested for shock and vibration resistance.

Some companies have taken to using tablets on forklifts, which does allow for more mobility with the computer, but one of the bigger criticisms of using those is that the battery only lasts so long before a charge is required. This wouldn’t be a problem except that forklifts typically use DC power, not AC, and so time would be lost in charging or the expense of having to keep several tablets on hand. The Tangent F15 has a wide input voltage range allows for integration into more environments that can use either DC or AC power.

A range of I/O devices useful to inventory management are available for the industrial computer including an internal GPS module and an RFID (MiFare). GPS is popular for use in geo-fencing and RFID uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to inventory, removing the need to manually scan an item to identify it. For those who prefer barcodes and scanners, there’s a multitude of input ports for peripherals and devices. A lot went into consideration when this industrial all-in-one was designed for warehouse and forklift use. And as with industrial operations, it’s always better to have the right tool for the job.