It is quite important for several businesses to examine the method of selecting a forklift. Like for instance, will your business choose consistently the same model for your dock work or warehouse? If this is so, you could be missing out on a more effective forklift. There could be other units existing on the market that enable more to get accomplished as they offer less exhaustion to operators. You might be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more effective manner. By doing some research and evaluation, you could determine if you have the right machinery to suit all your requirements. By reducing operator exhaustion, you can significantly increase your performance.
When determining forklift models which address your specific issues some of the important factors to think about can include:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
If your shipping department just loads out a few box trucks or semi-trailers per week, then you probably won't need a pricey lift truck to accomplish the tasks. An inexpensive walkie-rider or walkie model would be able to handle the task if: You do not need to stack loads inside the trailer, and a 4500 to 6000 lb. capacity is enough. Last but not least, you should consider whether or not the transition from the dock floor to the dock leveler and into the trailer is not too jarring for the operator since the small load wheels need to 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-rider or a walkie model. These battery-powered forklifts fit into a standard 108 inch trailer door without difficulty. Their masts allow in-trailer stacking. These types 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 store inventory on racks, replenish the manufacturing line, handle the paperwork connected with the loads, attach and scan 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 faster and less fatiguing to exit a stand-up control model, rather than a sit down kind.