Today owners, operators and managers explore every way possible to increase productivity. In materials handling, this means the best use of available space, equipment and … data. Additionally, managers must minimize maintenance tasks and expenses.

Lithium-ion batteries for industrial equipment are overwhelmingly qualified to help meet these requirements. There’s no daily maintenance of Li-ion forklift batteries, as with lead-acid cells. Lithium-ion batteries deliver on performance, without all the added work.

Li-ion batteries offer a longer cycle life. They also provide power design flexibility.

They also offer higher energy density compared to lead-acid batteries. However, there’s another benefit of some Li-ion batteries – data capabilities.

To learn why data capabilities are important for forklift lithium-ion battery systems, read on.

Data Capabilities of Lithium-Ion Batteries

Across every industry, decision-makers are looking for ways to improve logistics efficiency. Many executives are interested in alternative power for industrial materials handling equipment.

They’ve found that Li-ion batteries are a viable alternative.

Warehouse, plant and commercial operations managers need ways to maximize equipment uptime. They also need ways to work smarter. The intelligent data capabilities of OneCharge forklift batteries fulfill this need.

Factory and warehouse operators have embraced telematics to improve many business functions. More recently, however, they’ve started to focus on telematics for battery management.

 Telematics information might include labor allocation and materials movement. This data allows them to manage battery supplies more efficiently.

 Historically, decision-makers have viewed batteries as a cost of doing business. Today, however, battery data enables managers to use them as a technology investment.

Now, they’re using data provided by connected battery management systems. These systems enable them to perform tasks such as impact and utilization monitoring.

They’re also using them to track forklift operator accountability. The technology gives managers detailed insights into battery assets. Furthermore, they can combine this information with actual equipment and operator performance.

What Is a Connected Battery Management System?

Operators control lithium-ion batteries using a battery management system (BMS). It can also enable lithium-ion batteries to talk to you – for example through a web interface. This is the case with OneCharge Batteries.

You can program a battery management system to prolong the cycle life of Li-ion cells. It also helps to maximize the safety of forklift batteries.

A connected management system lets you manage problems remotely and in real-time.  These capabilities allow you to identify service issues before they become problems! Using a web-based interface, you can access your data 24-7 from any place.

 For example, a connected management system can alert you to excessive temperatures. It can also alert you to suboptimal charging patterns.

A connected management system can also notify you when a forklift battery is about to reach its end of useful life. When a battery gets close to a certain recharge cycle threshold, the operator will know in advance. With this information, they can get a replacement ready.

Using Data to Understand Battery Life Cycles

For the entire useful life of the Li-ion cells, you’ll have full awareness of its state-of-charge (SoC). You’ll also have insight into the remaining number of cycles.

SoC is an important indicator of the performance of lithium-ion cells. For instance, this data can help you to track the actual amount of energy spent by a certain forklift day by day, hour by hour, providing insight into the exact timing and intensity of operations.

Knowing the capacity of a cell helps you to track a battery’s state-of-health (SoH). Together, the SoC and SoH inform you of a battery’s state-of-function (SoF).

Ideally, operators should know the SoF at all times. This way, they can operate the forklift knowing it will make it through the day with little to no issues.

With a connected battery management system, they can also program fault protection. For instance, the system will disconnect the battery if it crosses a safety threshold or fails.

This safety feature will prolong the lifespan of the battery and report the problem to the user. Advanced data capabilities also include the analytics of prior interruptions and root causes.

Save Money and Work Smarter With Lithium-Ion Batteries

Li-ion forklift batteries can help you deliver higher efficiency and better run-time. Also, they come with a proven ROI and lower cost of ownership.

A lithium-ion cell lasts a minimum of five years. During that time, you can monitor all your lift truck Li-ion battery systems remotely. With a glance, you can review the SoC and SoH of your entire fleet.

Powering the Future With Lithium-Ion Batteries

Did you ever think you’d see the day when companies would start storing data in batteries? Well, that day has arrived.

Furthermore, you don’t need to learn how to save data. The battery management system does it for you. What’s more, Li-ion Wi-Fi enabled batteries to deliver data wherever you need it.

Did you know that Li-ion batteries feature built-in cell balancing? It helps to maintain cell voltage equilibrium across connected units. 

Cell balancing enables consistent charging. It also allows for the top performance of lithium-ion chemistry at any given moment.

Lithium-ion cells are more efficient than standard lead-acid batteries. They’re also easier to charge.

As an example, workers can recharge their equipment during their lunch break. This capability improves worksite efficiency. It also makes it easier to prepare equipment for the second and third shifts.

It’s also easier to scale battery pack applications. Compared to lead-acid batteries, it’s much easier to reconfigure Li-ion cells. You can use them in multi-placement and multipack configurations.

Today, operations execs want batteries that provide monitoring, communication, protection and flexibility. Li-ion batteries with these features make it easier to manage assets.

Trust a Leader in Industrial Power to Run Your Fleet

The data capabilities of lithium-ion batteries can help you revolutionize materials handling equipment. It can also help you to minimize maintenance requirements for your operation. These capabilities can also help you collect data and run analytics, enabling you to align with your company’s needs.

OneCharge is a leader in lithium-ion batteries for forklifts and commercial operations equipment. It’s our mission to help you achieve pure energy efficiency.

Our lithium-ion cells represent the latest, cutting-edge technology. With OneCharge batteries, you’ll recognize immediate returns in the form of increased uptime and safety, as well as reduced labor.

Moreover, you’ll recoup the cost of your upfront investment in as little as two to four years, depending on your operations. OneCharge industrial battery systems help reduce the overall cost of ownership throughout the lifetime of a battery with data accumulation and continuous performance improvements of operations.

Contact us today at (833) 895-8624 to learn how to get rid of your battery room and free your employees from forklift battery maintenance to perform more productive activities, which you can track easily.