Understanding the ROI of Implementing OSHAX and InfoHUBX and the Cost of NOT
Industry: Metals warehousing & fabrication
Fleet Size: 18 forklifts
Employees: 42 material handling operators
Location: U.S. Midwest
Background
A mid-size steel and metal distributor and fabricatorwith a high-throughput warehouse supplyies cut-to-length steel and aluminum. The company runs two shifts, with forklifts in use nearly 20 hours per day, one continental and 1 eight-hour shift. While operators were performing OSHA-required pre-shift safety inspections, the company relied on paper checklists, which created several problems:
- Missing or incomplete inspection sheets
- Illegible handwriting and inconsistent reporting
- No audit trail in the event of an incident
- Delayed identification of maintenance issues
- Increased legal exposure due to poor documentation
Management wanted to improve safety compliance and reduce downtime by adopting a digital system that records, timestamps, and stores OSHA forklift safety checks.
Challenges
- 1. Growing Maintenance Costs Unreported issues—like worn tires, hydraulic leaks, and damaged forks—were causing preventable breakdowns with high repair costs.
- 2. Compliance Risk During an insurance audit, the auditor noted gaps in pre-shift inspection documentation. Any serious accident without proper records could expose the company to OSHA fines and liability issues.
- 3. Inefficient Record-Keeping Supervisors spent nearly 6–8 hours per week sorting, filing, and tracking paper checklists.
- 4. Inconsistent Accountability Management had no visibility into who completed the checks, when they were done, or whether issues were reported promptly.
Solution
OSHAX: Pre-Shift Safety Recorder and InfoHUBX Communication Gateway
- Digital software-based OSHA pre-shift checklists
- Automatic timestamping and operator ID
- InfoHUBX data storage
- Real-time alerts for failed checklist items
- Dashboard analytics for supervisors and maintenance staff
Cost of implementation:
- Hardware & software: $29,100 initial
- Installation: $3,726.00 (Dealer charge out rate, $130.00 x 1.5 hours x 18 lift trucks)
- Annual subscription: $0.00 (No Monthly Fees of Storage Costs)
- Training: $0.00 (Live online support)
Results After 12 Months
1. Reduction in Forklift Repair Costs
Previously:
- Average $3,600/month in repair costs
- 32% attributed to avoidable issues caught too late
After implementation:
- Repair costs dropped to $2,250/month
- Savings: $1,350/month
- Annual savings: $16,200
Key drivers:
- Early detection of hydraulic leaks
- Timely tire replacement based on real wear reports
- Fewer major repairs caused by missed daily checks
2. Decreased Unplanned Downtime
Unplanned downtime dropped from 84 hours/year to 29 hours/year.
Cost of downtime:
- $180/hour (lost productivity + overtime + workflow disruption)
- Annual savings: (84 – 29) × $180 = $9,900
3. Reduced Administrative Labor
Supervisors saved 6 hours/week previously spent managing paper forms.
- 6 hours/week × $38/hour × 52 weeks
- Annual savings: $11,856
4. Avoided OSHA Penalties & Liability Exposure
While this company did not experience an incident at any time, the insurance auditor estimated that proper digital documentation reduced the company’s:
- Risk of OSHA fines ($5,000–$12,934 per violation)
- Liability exposure in case of injury (often > $100K)
The company conservatively logged:
$5,000/year in estimated risk mitigation value
5. Insurance Premium Improvement
Because of improved compliance and safety documentation, this company received a 3.5% insurance premium reduction.
- Annual premium: $128,000
- Savings: $4,480
Total Financial Impact (12-Month ROI)
| Benefit Category | Annual Savings |
|---|---|
| Reduced Repairs | $16,200 |
| Reduced Downtime | $9,900 |
| Administrative Labor Saved | $11,856 |
| Risk Mitigation Value | $5,000 |
| Insurance Premium Reduction | $4,480 |
| Total Annual Benefit | $47,436 (31% Year 1: Total Savings – Spend) |
Conclusion
Implementing IVDT’s OSHAX and InfoHUBX forklift safety check snd communication gateway pays for itself within a year. And the value grows in all subsequent years. Recording OSHA forklift safety checks digitally is not just a compliance requirement—it is a high-ROI operational improvement that reduces risk, cuts costs, and improves fleet uptime.With the effectiveness of the OSHAX companies that want to save time and money utilize IVDT’s InfoHUBX integration. InfoHUBX is a communication gateway that connects the OSHAX to your network, so the data compliance is easily accessible when required. This eliminates the need to physically visit the lift truck and brings the information directly to you saving valuable time. With an interactive portal that allows users to sort based on vehicle or operator, shift or safety outcome the InfoHUBX maintains 100% compliance displaying records in real time as it happens. The InfoHUBX will even send an email to operation managers when a vehicle fails a safety actioning a corrective measure or secondary inspection. With no monthly fees and or security risks the system is easily compatible with all networks. It is so effective that many companies who have introduced OSHAX on their forklift fleet have introduced it on other vehicles such as lift tables, loaders, aerial equipment anything that requires an operator.
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