Leading provider of integrated services in Australia and New Zealand, Downer has turned to the reliability, safety and performance of Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA) forklifts for its Rail & Transit Systems (RTS) warehouse operations in New South Wales.
Downer is Australia’s leading provider of rollingstock asset management with over a century and a half of experience. In New South Wales, they designed, built and now maintain the Millenium and Waratah train fleets accounting for 50% of Sydney’s train fleets.
RTS uses Toyota forklifts at a number of its warehouse facilities, including in the Sydney suburb of Auburn, and Hexham and Cardiff, outside of Newcastle.
Warehouse Manager Paul Barlow has been using Toyota forklifts for more than five years, and over time has moved exclusively to TMHA., currently in year two of a five-year long-term lease at their Auburn Maintenance Centre.
Mr Barlow said that using Toyota forklifts works well for the business, thanks to their high levels of technology, including the I_Site telematics system, which helps to track forklift utilisation, improve driver safety and monitor damages.
The Toyota forklifts include electronic features which Mr Barlow finds useful.
“We can see driver utilisation, how long the forklifts have been used, how many hours it’s been used per day, we can check high- and low-impact damage, our drivers can do a safety inspection prior to hopping on a forklift in the morning or before a shift, Mr Barlow said.”
“So, our drivers have to complete a series of safety questions around the forklift before they hop on, and it operates. That was the technology that we wanted.”
Mr Barlow added that the shift away from physical paperwork to higher digital capability as well as the safety credentials of the forklifts have been warmly received by both management and the forklift operators.
“The online safety questions and our pre-start inspections are quite handy, and the guys like that instead of having to fill out manual paperwork, so that’s a big plus,” he said.
“The safety elements around the forklifts, like halos and safety barriers, are good,” Mr Barlow said.
At Downer’s Auburn Maintenance Facility, they undertake the routine maintenance of 1,092 train cars putting 100 trains into service for the people of Sydney every day, while housing five total Toyota units.
With a preference for zero- -emission battery electric technology, Downer Auburn uses 8FBE18 and 8FBN30 electric counterbalance forklifts, an OME120HW electric order picker and an RRE140H high reach truck, along with a single 8FG40N LPG counterbalance forklift. TMHA’s team, including area sales manager Matt Hoare and major account manager Michael Provan, helped Downer accessorise their machines to suit the parameters of their warehouse.
“The machines were all specced up to a Downer standard for our warehouse conditions, including the type of tyre and how high or low that mast can rise. This means we can have limits on the ability to lift to a certain height.” Mr Barlow said.
“We have a whole lot of overhead wiring around our site because we’re a rail maintenance depot, so we can’t go anywhere near that overhead wiring. We have safety height cutouts on our machines, so you don’t get within the three-metre exclusion zone of that overhead wiring. Features like that played a part of the selection process when we went to tender.”
Downer’s Toyota forklifts are used for a range of purposes in the Auburn facility, including lifting various equipment in and out of trains using specialised forklift accessories.
“When you see the trains on a platform you see all the roof equipment and the pantographs, the forklifts are required to lift large pieces of equipment like that,” Mr Barlow said.
“They’re lifting upwards of 1.8 tonne, and that’s just for general warehouse usage. We also use the forklifts with special attachments to fit materials or items to the trains as well, so we’re lifting things like seats and batteries in and out of the trains, we install and uninstall air compressors inside the train, and they use special attachments to do that kind of stuff.”
One particular benefit of choosing Toyota is the fast and convenient servicing provided by TMHA and its extensive team of knowledgeable service technicians, who are able to minimise forklift downtime with quick and responsive callout times.
“The servicing’s great,” Mr Barlow said. “If there’s a problem with the forklift, there’s a number we contact and they’re generally out within four hours as per their initial agreement. Here at Auburn, we operate 24/7, 365 days a year – public holidays, the works.”
Mr Barlow added that he has been very happy since making the switch to Toyota and would “absolutely” recommend TMHA to other businesses looking for a new piece of material handling equipment.
