It is quite important for some businesses to examine the process of selecting a forklift. Like for instance, would your company select consistently the same model for your warehouse or dock work? If this is so, you could be missing out on a more efficient forklift. There may be different other models existing on the market which enable more to get accomplished as they provide less exhaustion to operators. You may be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more cost-effective way. By doing some research and evaluation, you can determine if you have the best equipment to suit your requirements. By reducing operator fatigue, you could drastically increase your performance.
When determining forklift models that address your particular issues some of the important factors to think about could include:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
You probably won't require an expensive forklift to complete jobs if your shipping and receiving department loads only a few box trucks or semi-trailers a week. A less expensive walkie unit or walkie-rider will be able to handle the task if: A 4500 to 6000 pound capacity is sufficient and you are not required to stack loads inside the trailer. Lastly, 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 since the small load wheels have to travel over the dock plate.
If your shipping facility is consistently loading trailers however, a stand-up end control model may make more sense over a walkie-rider or a walkie model. These battery-powered forklifts easily fit into a standard 108 inch trailer door. Their masts allow in-trailer stacking. These forklifts provide a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 lbs.
Operator Duties:
Each company has a slightly different system for material handling. In certain circumstances, several forklift operators not only load trucks in the shipping department, but replenish the manufacturing line, store inventory on racks, handle the paperwork associated with the loads, attach and scan bar codes and other tasks. Normally, the forklift operators who are always on and off of their lift trucks 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.