Sometimes, it pays to examine the process of choosing a lift truck. For instance, does your company consistently choose the same units for your dock work? If so, you can potentially miss out on a more efficient truck. There could be different other models existing on the market that offer less exhaustion to operators and enable more to get accomplished. You might be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more effective manner. By doing some evaluation and research, you can determine if you have the right machinery to suit all your needs. By reducing operator fatigue, you could drastically increase your performance.
Some of the important factors to think about when determining forklift units which deal with specific issues consist of:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
You probably won't require a pricey forklift to accomplish jobs if your shipping and receiving department loads only a few box trucks or semi-trailers per week. An inexpensive walkie model or walkie-rider will be able to deal with the job if: You do not need to stack loads in the trailer, and a 4500 to 6000 lb. capacity is enough. Last of all, you must think about whether or not the transition to the dock leveler from the dock floor and into the trailer is not too jarring for the operator because the small load wheels should travel over the dock plate.
If on the other hand, your shipping facility is consistently loading trailers, than a stand-up end control would make more sense over a walkie model or a walkie-rider. These battery-powered forklifts easily fit into a standard 108 inch trailer door. Their masts enable in-trailer stacking. These forklifts offer a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 pounds.
Operator Duties:
Every business has a slightly different system for material handling. In some circumstances, several forklift operators not only load trucks in the shipping department, but store inventory on racks, replenish the manufacturing line, handle the paperwork associated with the loads, scan and attach bar codes and other jobs. Normally, the forklift operators who are constantly on and off of their lift trucks in their shifts find it much quicker and less fatiguing to exit a stand-up control unit, as opposed to a sit down type.