It is quite key for some businesses to examine the method of selecting a forklift. For instance, will your company select always the same unit for your warehouse or dock work? If this is so, you could be missing out on a more effective forklift. There might be other units existing on the market which allow more to get done since they offer less fatigue to operators. You may be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more cost-effective way. By doing some evaluation and research, you could determine if you have the best equipment to suit your needs. By reducing operator fatigue, you could significantly increase your performance.
Several of the key factors to think about when determining forklift models that deal with particular issues include:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
You probably won't need an expensive lift truck to accomplish jobs if your shipping and receiving department loads only a few box trucks or semi-trailers per week. An inexpensive walkie-rider or walkie model would be able to handle the task if: A 4500 to 6000 pound capacity is adequate and you do not need to stack loads inside the trailer. Last of all, you have to 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 must travel over the dock plate.
If your shipping facility is always loading trailers on the other hand, a stand-up end control model may make more sense over a walkie-rider or a walkie model. These battery-powered forklifts fit into a standard 108 inch trailer door easily. Their masts enable in-trailer stacking. These kinds of forklifts offer a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 lbs.
Operator Duties:
Each business has a slightly different system for material handling. In certain circumstances, some forklift operators not just load trucks in the shipping department, but replenish the manufacturing line, store inventory on racks, handle the paperwork associated with the loads, scan and attach bar codes and other tasks. Usually, the forklift operators who are constantly on and off of their lift trucks in their shifts find it a lot quicker and less tiring to exit a stand-up control model, as opposed to a sit down type.