There are times it pays to examine the process of choosing a forklift. Like for instance, does your business always select the same units for your dock work? If so, you could potentially miss out on a more efficient truck. There might be different other models on the market that enable more to get accomplished as they provide less fatigue to operators. You might be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more effective manner. By doing some evaluation and research, you can determine if you have the best machinery to meet all of your needs. By reducing operator fatigue, you can drastically increase your performance.
Several of the important factors to consider when determining forklift units which deal with specific issues comprise:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
You probably won't require an expensive forklift to accomplish tasks if your shipping and receiving department loads only a few semi-trailers or box trucks a week. A less expensive walkie-rider or walkie model would be able to deal with the task if: You are not required to stack loads inside the trailer, and a 4500 to 6000 lb. capacity is sufficient. 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 as the small load wheels need to travel over the dock plate.
If on the other hand, your shipping facility is consistently loading trailers, than a stand-up end control would make more sense over a walkie model or a walkie-rider. These battery-powered forklifts fit into a standard 108 inch trailer door without difficulty. Their masts allow in-trailer stacking. These types of forklifts provide a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 lbs.
Operator Duties:
For material handling requirements, each business has a slightly different system. Several lift truck operators would normally unload and load products in the shipping department along with storing objects on inventory racks, replenish the manufacturing line, handle the paperwork associated with the loads, attach and scan bar codes and other tasks. Usually, the forklift operators who are constantly on and off of their lift trucks in their shifts find it much quicker and less fatiguing to exit a stand-up control model, rather than a sit down type.