It is quite key for some businesses to examine the method of selecting a forklift. Like for example, would your business choose always the same model for your dock work or warehouse? If this is so, you could be missing out on a more effective forklift. There can be other models existing on the market that allow more to get done since they offer less exhaustion 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 machinery to suit all of your needs. By reducing operator fatigue, you can drastically increase your performance.
Some of the important factors to consider when determining forklift models that deal with particular problems consist of:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
You probably won't need an expensive forklift to accomplish tasks if your shipping and receiving department loads just a few box trucks or semi-trailers per week. A cheaper walkie-rider or walkie model would be able to handle the task if: You are not required to stack loads inside the trailer, and a 4500 to 6000 pound capacity is enough. Lastly, you have 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 as the small load wheels must travel over the dock plate.
If on the other hand, your shipping facility is always loading trailers, than a stand-up end control would make more sense over a walkie model or a walkie-rider. These battery-powered forklifts fit into a standard 108 inch trailer door with no trouble. Their masts enable in-trailer stacking. These kinds of forklifts provide a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 pounds.
Operator Duties:
Each business has a slightly different system for material handling. In certain 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 cargo, attach and scan bar codes and other tasks. Generally, the forklift operators who are constantly on and off of their forklifts in their shifts find it a lot quicker and less fatiguing to exit a stand-up control model, as opposed to a sit down kind.