The lift truck is a very important tool to help employees lift and move heavy weight supplies and goods with speed and efficiency without straining their bodies. The way a business utilizes this machine can considerably affect its productivity.
Free stacking pallets is the most popular storage method. Using this storage method is both economical and easy for your lift truck. Free Stacking Pallets is placing one pallet over another to make a stack of products. This is a stable storage method and is recommended when handling large amounts of the same goods, or numerous pallets of similar dimensions and height. The disadvantage of this method is that it only allows access to the things placed last, so it does not enable a First In First Out system.
Pallet Racking is a technique that involves the stable storage of different sized pallets. Any pallet could be accessed at any time, that allows a Last In First Out or First In First Out method. It permits the rack to grow and change shape depending upon every day needs. This particular method requires aisles which are adequately wide to enable a forklift to maneuver easily and to freely access the racks. The disadvantage is that this particular method means fewer pallets could be handled within the environment. This might not matter if there is adequate space available.
Narrow aisle racking is like pallet racking in that it enables for a Last In First Out or First In First Out method. The difference in the method is how the special narrow lift truck is utilized. This means that smaller spaces are required between the aisles of pallets than in the Pallet Racking technique. The advantage is that much more goods could be kept in the same space. The disadvantage is that you would have to transition to a new truck if you already own a regular forklift truck. The cost of obtaining special equipment may be a deterrent to adopting this particular technique of storage.
It is essential to use your lift truck to its full capability. It pays to analyze your time expenses in retrieval and storage of pallets. After that you can find out whether there are more effective means to use your lift truck in order to speed up the process or to increase the usable area of your units. Greater effectiveness means greater profitability.