There are times it pays to examine the process of selecting a lift truck. For example, does your company always choose the same units for your dock work? If so, you could potentially miss out on a more effective truck. There can be other units available on the market which provide less exhaustion to operators and enable more to get done. You may be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more cost-effective manner. By doing some research and evaluation, you can determine if you have the best equipment to suit all of your requirements. By reducing operator fatigue, you can drastically increase your performance.
When determining forklift models which deal with your particular issues several of the important factors to consider can consist of:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
If your shipping department just loads out a few box trucks or semi-trailers per week, then you probably won't require an expensive forklift to complete the tasks. A cheaper walkie-rider or walkie unit will be able to handle the task if: You do not need to stack loads inside the trailer, and a 4500 to 6000 pound capacity is sufficient. Lastly, you need 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 as the small load wheels must travel over the dock plate.
If your shipping facility is consistently loading trailers however, a stand-up end control unit 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 pounds.
Operator Duties:
Each company has a slightly different system for material handling. In some circumstances, several forklift operators not just load trucks in the shipping department, but replenish the manufacturing line, store inventory on racks, handle the paperwork connected with the cargo, attach and scan bar codes and other jobs. Usually, the forklift operators who are always on and off of their lift trucks during their shifts find it less tiring and a lot faster to exit a stand-up control unit, as opposed to a sit down type.