The forklift truck is a vital machine to help employees lift and transport heavy weight supplies and products with efficiency and speed without injuring their bodies. How a company makes use of this machinery could significantly affect its productivity.
Free stacking pallets is the most popular storage technique. Using this storage technique is both economical and easy for your forklift. Free Stacking Pallets involves positioning one pallet over another to create a stack of goods. This is a stable storage system and is suggested when handling large amounts of similar product, or numerous pallets of similar dimensions and height. The disadvantage of this specific technique is that it only allows access to the things put last, so it does not allow a First In First Out system.
It is important to have a pallet racking system which involves the stable storage of different sized pallets. Using a Last In First Out or First In First Out method, would allow for easy access of any pallet. It enables the rack to grow and change shape depending upon every day requirements. This method needs aisles that are wide enough to allow a lift truck to maneuver easily and to freely access the racks. The disadvantage is that this particular method means fewer pallets can be handled within the environment. This might not make a difference if there is sufficient space available.
Narrow aisle racking is like pallet racking in that it allows for a First In First Out or Last In First Out method. The difference in the method is how the special narrow lift truck is used. This means that smaller spaces are required between the aisles of pallets than in the Pallet Racking method. The benefit is that more product can be kept in the same area. The downside is that you would have to transition to a different kind of truck if you already own a standard lift truck. The expenditure of acquiring special equipment may be a deterrent to adopting this technique of storage.
It is essential to utilize your forklift truck to its full capability. It pays to consider your time expenses in retrieval and storage of pallets. After that you can determine whether there are more effective ways to utilize your lift truck to increase the usable area of your units or to accelerate the process. Greater efficiency means bigger profitability.