Expert diagnostic system helps speed forklift repairs

Toyota Materials and Handling USA (TMHU), which has more than 500,000 forklifts in use in the United States and Canada, has implemented a customer online expert diagnostic system to simplify and speed the repair of problems.

TMHU has deployed Exsys Corvid to capture the detailed expert diagnostic knowledge in repair procedures, supplemented by the knowledge of its diagnostic experts. It is using the solution to provide dealers with tools that will improve service and profitability, implement best practices and maintain operational excellence, according to Exsys. TMHU has 3,000 dealer technicians who receive more than 18,000 service calls per year.

Cary Howie, TMHU technical services manager, says, “Now Toyota dealers and technicians have a one-stop source to assist their customers. Less experienced technicians benefit from the experience of gold-level technicians with many years of diagnostic knowledge. Having T.E.D. (Toyota Expert Diagnosis Expert System) on staff is like having another person available 24/7—T.E.D. never gets sick and is always available.”

Howie continues, “The cost to develop T.E.D. will easily be returned in the first year of use, with a higher R.O.I. expected as future enhancements and forklifts are added.”

By converting diagnostic procedures to the Exsys Corvid expert system, technicians now have an online Web-based diagnostic tool. Based on the failure code and input data, they are asked to make specific, detailed individual measurements. The Corvid system incorporates the diagnostic logic and can determine what step to take next based on the measurements. When there is enough data to proceed to the next step or identify the root cause of the failure, the system does that with maximum efficiency, according to Exsys.

T.E.D. is also used to train new TMHU technicians, allowing them to access the system and run various scenarios to view the results. The system can be accessed using tablets or smartphones with a Web browser, providing dealer technicians with mobile access to T.E.D.

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