Find the right mobile device mount

Why spend thousands of dollars on technology that’s just in your driver’s way? Companies continue to confront this problem as they upgrade their lift truck fleet and the attachments that support them.

Mobile devices have become commonplace in the warehouse, helping operators process orders, scan bar codes, manage inventory and maintain real-time data analysis. When it comes to lift trucks, in particular, mobile devices are used to complete safety checklists and complete compliance audits, track and manage fleet locations, and monitor maintenance needs.

These solutions, if implemented correctly, can lead to more efficient and productive warehouses. When purchased without a deployment plan in mind, however, they can cause costly mistakes and disrupt buy-in from your employees. Accessories like device mounts are often an afterthought, but they can make all the difference.

ProClip USA works with a number of customers who have experienced firsthand the problems that can stem from not pairing devices with mounts from the get-go. People leave them on chairs or plug them in incorrectly, leading to damaged and missing devices.

“The most common thing that I hear in a forklift is that they use a bar code scanner, they set it on the seat next to them, and then when they drive away, they run over it,” says Miles Penrod, senior custom product development manager, ProClip USA. “That’s a $700 piece every time they run it over, so the people who have worked with us and have experienced that pain, they will call us first thing and say, ‘What do you support so I can buy something that you already support.’”

Penrod adds that new customers often come to them at the last minute in a panic of, “we bought all this stuff. We can’t charge it, and we have nowhere to put it.”

Lift truck device mounts solve that problem from the start. Device mounts are designed to securely and safely mount tablets, scanners or whatever the device may be on the truck in a way that is not only easy to use but also safe for the driver.

While often overlooked, the right mount should be durable enough to withstand the vibrations and hard conditions of lift truck operations while also offering adaptability to avoid not blocking the driver’s field of view or limiting the truck’s ability to lift.

“It’s really common for them to look at the capital expense instead of the operational expense,” says Penrod. Very commonly, he says, he sees companies sticker shopping and looking for the absolute cheapest thing that they can get without thinking that in two years, maybe even 18 months, they’ll have to throw that away and do it over again, depending on the technology they pick.

“More often than not, where we see these technology deployments be a massive pain, it’s in the long term, operating costs,” he adds. “When you cut corners on the front end, and you don’t think about a five-year model, more often than not, you end up paying two, three or four times more than you had to in that particular environment.”

While undergoing technology deployments, fleet managers and IT departments should both be at the table because at the end of the day, it’s not really about the technology but about getting the job done more efficiently. When considering a device manufacturer, don’t forget to cover all your bases and ask about the support and accessory ecosystem.