Sometimes, it pays to examine the method of choosing a forklift. Like for example, does your business consistently choose the same units for your dock work? If so, you could potentially miss out on a more efficient truck. There could be various other units available on the market which provide less fatigue 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 your needs. By reducing operator fatigue, you could significantly increase your performance.
Several of the important factors to think about when determining forklift units that deal with specific problems comprise:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
You probably won't need an expensive lift truck to complete tasks if your shipping and receiving department loads only a few box trucks or semi-trailers a week. An inexpensive walkie model or walkie-rider would be able to deal with the task if: A 4500 to 6000 lb. capacity is enough and you do not need to stack loads inside the trailer. Last but not least, 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-rider or a walkie model. These battery-powered forklifts fit into a standard 108 inch trailer door with no trouble. Their masts allow in-trailer stacking. These types of forklifts offer a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 pounds.
Operator Duties:
Every company has a slightly different system for material handling. In certain circumstances, some 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 loads, scan and attach bar codes and other tasks. Usually, the forklift operators who are always on and off of their forklifts in their shifts find it much faster and less fatiguing to exit a stand-up control model, rather than a sit down kind.