There are times it pays to examine the process of selecting a forklift. For instance, does your business consistently choose the same models for your dock work? If so, you could potentially miss out on a more efficient truck. There can be other models on the market which allow more to get accomplished since they provide less fatigue to operators. You might be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more effective manner. By doing some research and evaluation, you could determine if you have the right equipment to suit all of your needs. By reducing operator exhaustion, you could drastically increase your performance.
When determining forklift units that address your specific concerns some of the key factors to consider can comprise:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
If your shipping department only loads out a few box trucks or semi-trailers a week, then you probably won't need a pricey lift truck to accomplish the tasks. An inexpensive walkie model or walkie-rider will be able to deal with the job if: A 4500 to 6000 pound capacity is sufficient and you are not required to stack loads in the trailer. Lastly, you must 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 must travel over the dock plate.
If your shipping facility is always loading trailers on the other hand, a stand-up end control model may make more sense over a walkie model or a walkie-rider. These battery-powered forklifts easily fit into a standard 108 inch trailer door. Their masts allow in-trailer stacking. These forklifts offer a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 lbs.
Operator Duties:
For material handling requirements, each business has a slightly different system. Several forklift operators will often load and unload products in the shipping department in addition to storing items on inventory racks, replenish the manufacturing line, handle the paperwork associated with the loads, scan and attach bar codes and other tasks. Generally, the forklift operators who are constantly on and off of their forklifts during their shifts find it less tiring and a lot quicker to exit a stand-up control unit, rather than a sit down kind.