Sometimes, it pays to examine the process of selecting a forklift. Like for example, does your company always choose the same units for your dock work? If so, you can potentially miss out on a more effective truck. There could be various other models available on the market which offer less fatigue to operators and allow more to get accomplished. You might be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more effective manner. By doing some evaluation and research, you could determine if you have the right equipment to meet all your needs. By reducing operator exhaustion, you can significantly increase your performance.
When determining forklift units which address your particular issues some of the important factors to think about may comprise:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
If your shipping department only loads out a few box trucks or semi-trailers per week, then you probably won't require an expensive lift truck to accomplish the tasks. An inexpensive walkie-rider or walkie unit will be able to deal with the task if: A 4500 to 6000 pound capacity is adequate and you are not required to stack loads in the trailer. Lastly, 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 should travel over the dock plate.
If your shipping facility is consistently loading trailers on the other hand, a stand-up end control unit may make more sense over a walkie model or a walkie-rider. These battery-powered forklifts fit into a standard 108 inch trailer door easily. Their masts allow in-trailer stacking. These forklifts offer a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 lbs.
Operator Duties:
Every business has a slightly different system for material handling. In some circumstances, some forklift operators not only 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 jobs. Generally, the forklift operators who are constantly on and off of their forklifts during their shifts find it much faster and less fatiguing to exit a stand-up control model, rather than a sit down kind.