Sometimes, it pays to examine the process of selecting a lift truck. For example, does your business always choose the same units for your dock work? If so, you could potentially miss out on a more effective truck. There can be different other units on the market that allow more to get accomplished since they provide less exhaustion to operators. You might be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more effective way. By doing some research and evaluation, you could determine if you have the best machinery to suit all of your requirements. By reducing operator fatigue, you can significantly increase your performance.
When determining forklift models which deal with your specific problems some of the important factors to think about could consist of:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
You probably won't need an expensive lift truck to accomplish jobs if your shipping and receiving department loads only a few box trucks or semi-trailers a week. An inexpensive walkie-rider or walkie unit will be able to handle the task if: A 4500 to 6000 lb. capacity is adequate and you do not need to stack loads inside the trailer. Last of all, you should think about 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 need to travel over the dock plate.
If on the other hand, your shipping facility is always loading trailers, than a stand-up end control will 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 enable in-trailer stacking. These forklifts offer a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 pounds.
Operator Duties:
For material handling needs, each company has a slightly different system. Several forklift operators will normally unload and load goods in the shipping department as well as storing items on inventory racks, handle the paperwork associated with the loads, replenish the manufacturing line, scan and attach bar codes and other tasks. Usually, the forklift operators who are constantly on and off of their forklifts during their shifts find it less tiring and a lot faster to exit a stand-up control unit, rather than a sit down kind.