Sometimes, it pays to examine the process of choosing a lift truck. For instance, does your company consistently choose the same models for your dock work? If so, you could potentially miss out on a more effective truck. There might be other models available on the market which offer less exhaustion to operators and enable more to get done. You might be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more effective way. By doing some evaluation and research, you could determine if you have the best machine to suit your requirements. By reducing operator exhaustion, you can drastically increase your performance.
Several of the important factors to consider when determining forklift models which deal with specific issues consist of:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
If your shipping department only loads out a few box trucks or semi-trailers a week, then you probably won't require a pricey forklift to accomplish the job. A less expensive walkie model or walkie-rider will be able to handle the job if: A 4500 to 6000 lb. capacity is enough and you do not need to stack loads in the trailer. Last of all, you have to consider whether or not the transition to the dock leveler from the dock floor and into the trailer is not too jarring for the operator because the small load wheels should travel over the dock plate.
If on the other hand, your shipping facility is always loading trailers, than a stand-up end control would 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 allow in-trailer stacking. These kinds of forklifts offer a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 pounds.
Operator Duties:
Each company has a slightly different system for material handling. In some circumstances, some forklift operators not only load trucks in the shipping department, but store inventory on racks, replenish the manufacturing line, handle the paperwork associated with the loads, attach and scan bar codes and other jobs. Normally, the forklift operators who are constantly on and off of their lift trucks in their shifts find it a lot faster and less tiring to exit a stand-up control model, as opposed to a sit down type.