The forklift has become a vital piece of equipment able to lift and move things and heavy materials with both efficiency and speed. The way a company uses this machinery can considerably affect its productivity.
Free stacking pallets is the most common storage system. Utilizing this storage technique is both easy and economical for your forklift. Free Stacking Pallets involves positioning one pallet over another to make a stack of products. This is a stable storage method and is suggested when handling many pallets of similar dimensions and height or large amounts of the same product. The disadvantage of this method is that it just allows access to the things placed last, so it does not allow a First In First Out system.
It is essential to have a pallet racking method that involves the stable storage of different sized pallets. Utilizing a First In First Out or Last In First Out system, will allow for easy access of any pallet. It permits the rack to grow and change shape depending upon every day needs. This method requires aisles which are adequately wide to enable a lift truck to maneuver easily and to freely access the racks. The disadvantage is that this technique means less pallets can be handled in the environment. This might not make a difference if there is adequate space available.
Narrow aisle racking is similar to pallet racking in that it enables for a Last In First Out or First In First Out method. The difference in the method is how the special narrow forklift is used. This means that smaller areas are required between the aisles of pallets than in the Pallet Racking method. The benefit is that more goods could be kept in the same space. The downside is that you would have to transition to a new truck if you already own a regular lift truck. The cost of acquiring special machines may be a deterrent to implementing this particular system of storage.
It is important to use your lift truck to its full potential. It pays to analyze your time costs in retrieval and storage of pallets. Then you could find out whether there are more effective means to utilize your forklift to increase the usable space of your units or to speed up the process. Greater effectiveness means bigger profitability.