Skyjack’s ELEVATE Battery Management System Prompts Operators Toward Better Recharging Practices

---

Skyjack has added the new ELEVATE Battery Management System to its ELEVATE fleet telematics package to encourage rental customers to recharge lead-acid lift batteries in non-damaging ways. The company developed the battery management algorithm as telematics data revealed recharging practices that were shortening battery lifespan and inflating rental companies’ replacement costs.

“Since the inception of the ELEVATE telematics package, Skyjack have focused on actionable insights,” says Skyjack Vice President of Marketing Malcolm Early. “We identified that batteries are currently sitting at an average battery life (1.5 to 2.5 years) that is only half their potential.”

---

Skyjack has added the new ELEVATE Battery Management System to its fleet telematics package to encourage rental customers to recharge lead-acid lift batteries in non-damaging ways. (Photo courtesy of Skyjack.)

Telltale Data

With the assistance of machine learning technology, Skyjack studied two years of battery pack charging behavior gleaned from more than 84 million data points from aggregated global telematics info. “What we have developed is an algorithm that can successfully identify the different features of charging data with high accuracy, which requires effectively understanding and interpreting all of the edge cases of those features,” says Skyjack Technology Product Manager David Swan.

“Skyjack was able to identify operator charging behavior, irrespective of battery type, as a primary factor in machine performance, frequency of battery replacement, and cost of ownership of electric powered machines,” Swan notes in a recent white paper about the study. Charging frequency, the length of recharging sessions, and the amount of time spent at extremely low charge all proved to be factors in shorter battery life and expensive replacement.

---

Skyjack says that keeping a lift battery about half- to fully-charged (in green) will help it reach its full 3- to 4-year lifespan. A battery pack that’s habitually used at less than half charge (yellow and red) will need to be replaced much sooner. (Photo courtesy of Skyjack.)

Full Charges = Greater Profitability

The study found that customers were fully charging Skyjack lift batteries only once per month, with 75% of recharging sessions lasting less than 2.75 hours. Because battery packs used at a low state of charge for an extended period of time permanently lose potential amp hours, these recharging practices reduced the lifespan of the batteries by roughly 50% on average. Skyjack notes that even more advanced batteries such as lithium-ion units will underperform when the manufacturer’s recharging instructions are not followed.

“Looking at the results from the study, it’s clear that there is a lot of opportunity for better practices and greater profitability with rental companies’ current stock of lead-acid batteries,” said Swan. “That’s why we incorporated ELEVATE BMS into our new ELEVATE Live product where the emphasis is on changing charging behavior through active onscreen prompts directed toward the operator.”

Source: Skyjack