Your Questions Answered: Why Compact Equipment Will Lead The Early Adoption Of Electrification

Equipment manufacturers must demonstrate the problems they are solving with electrified equipment. During the 2024 OEM Industry Summit, Nick Moore, director of product management for electrification at Briggs & Stratton (Vanguard), explored the transformative impact of electrification on the compact equipment sector and highlighted technological advancements, operational benefits, and environmental advantages in the webinar "Why Compact Equipment Will Lead The Early Adoption Of Electrification."

Register here to watch the webinar on-demand.

Moore answered additional questions not addressed during the webinar.

Question: How important are governmental incentives? What could or should air quality agencies be doing to help get manufacturers and fleets to advance their adoption of electric equipment?

Moore: Unfortunately most OEMs are only interested in the financials, not necessarily doing the right thing for the environment. Therefore, the more incentives there are, the easier it is for the end purchasers to understand the total cost of ownership and likely see the ROI they need to make the switch in a shorter timeframe. We would love the help of agencies to push like we are to ensure OEMs and users are looking at that TCO, not just the initial sell price. We would be happy to discuss how we can work together on this.

Question: Have the relevant safety authorities given recognition to any safety considerations for using electric equipment such as increased safety, less hearing loss, less vibration impacts and more?

Moore: We are unaware of OSHA or others utilizing the benefits to help spread the message, but it would make a ton of sense to do so. It would be great for them to help share not just that this helps be more under established limits, but gives operators an even better experience which likely pushes better operator performance and longevity.