“With InfoLink we have total control of operation, both in terms of productivity and security.”
Marcos Humberto
Greenbrier Maxion Logistics Supervisor, Hortolândia-SP
The InfoLink system's impact alerts have increased operator awareness of the significance of impacts, enabling a 70 percent decrease to date with an ultimate goal of zero impacts.
The InfoLink system's electronic pre-shift inspections have increased the visibility of maintenance issues, leading to preventative maintenance that avoids unexpected downtime.
The InfoLink system's utlization reports have provided the company with data to make informed decisions that have helped increase overall productivity.
Greenbrier Maxion Logistics Supervisor, Hortolândia-SP
Greenbrier Maxion, built as a joint venture of the Brazilian company Iochpe-Maxion and American companies Amsted Rail and Greenbrier, is the largest railroad operation in South America. The company is a world leader in producing railcars and wheel trucks as well as providing services for the rail industry. Located in Hortolândia-SP, the company’s facilities total 951,4 square meters and employs more than 1,300 employees.
Greenbrier Maxion had previously relied on a paper-based inspection system that often allowed issues with lift trucks to go unnoticed by anyone but the operator for up to two weeks, which sometimes resulted in unexpected downtime. Without a fleet and operator management system, the company's logistics area did not have visibility into which trucks were in operation and moving loads, preventing it from achieving its objectives of meeting the production lines, guaranteeing inventory accuracy and carrying out product dispatch.
With a new fleet of Crown forklifts, Greenbrier Maxion seized the opportunity to implement Crown's InfoLink Operator and Fleet Management system, which provided a new level of transparency into the operation of its fleet. It now knows exactly what is happening in real time and is immediately alerted to impacts as they happen. Selectable impact thresholds enable the company to determine when impacts are serious enough to immediately shut down the lift truck and initiate an investigation. In addition, electronic pre-shift inspections ensure that issues are both documented and visible to management so that preventive maintenance can be performed and the truck is released only after the operator performs it correctly.