Not so long ago, managing a large fleet of batteries for the warehouse or distribution center was seen as a cost of doing business. Sure, there were ways to reduce the expense, like ensuring the batteries were watered with some regularity before they completely dried out. Philadelphia Scientific continued improving our watering systems to decrease the time (and labor) to perform this necessary task. But as we stated in our ProMat 2017 seminar, "You cannot fix what you are not measuring."

Today we will be looking at Battery Management Systems, what they are and how they can help manage your battery room. A battery management system (BMS) can be looked at as the brains of the battery room. It will primarily tell operators which battery is the best one to take next and monitor the whole system.

But, nearly half of all flooded lead acid batteries don’t achieve even half of their expected life. Poor management, no monitoring and a lack of both proactive and reactive maintenance can kill a battery in less than 18 months. This can drastically affect the performance of a battery room. However, there are numerous ways to improve and maximize the number of cycles a typical battery will achieve.