Sometimes, it pays to examine the process of choosing a lift truck. For instance, does your business always select the same units for your dock work? If so, you can potentially miss out on a more effective truck. There can be different other models existing on the market which offer less fatigue to operators and enable more to get done. You might be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more cost-effective way. By doing some research and evaluation, you can determine if you have the best machine to meet your requirements. By reducing operator exhaustion, you could significantly increase your performance.
Some of the key factors to consider when determining forklift units which address specific issues consist of:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
If your shipping department only loads out a few semi-trailers or box trucks a week, then you probably won't require a pricey forklift to accomplish the job. An inexpensive walkie model or walkie-rider would be able to deal with the task if: You do not need to stack loads in the trailer, and a 4500 to 6000 pound capacity is adequate. Lastly, you need to consider whether or not the transition to the dock leveler from the dock floor and into the trailer is not too jarring for the operator since the small load wheels should travel over the dock plate.
If your shipping facility is consistently loading trailers on the other hand, a stand-up end control model could make more sense over a walkie-rider or a walkie model. These battery-powered forklifts easily fit into a standard 108 inch trailer door. Their masts enable in-trailer stacking. These types of forklifts provide a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 pounds.
Operator Duties:
Every company has a slightly different system for material handling. In some circumstances, several forklift operators not just load trucks in the shipping department, but store inventory on racks, replenish the manufacturing line, handle the paperwork connected with the loads, scan and attach bar codes and other jobs. Usually, the forklift operators who are constantly on and off of their lift trucks during their shifts find it much faster and less tiring to exit a stand-up control unit, as opposed to a sit down kind.