The lift truck is a very important tool to help employees raise and move heavy weight supplies and goods with efficiency and speed without straining their bodies. How a business makes use of this tool could considerably affect its productivity.
A popular storage technique is Free Stacking Pallets. This is a way to utilize your lift truck that is both easy and economical. Free Stacking Pallets is positioning one pallet on top of another to create a stack of goods. This is a stable storage method and is recommended when dealing with large amounts of the same product, or numerous pallets of the same dimensions and height. The disadvantage of this particular system is that it only allows access to the items placed last, so it does not allow a First In First Out system.
Pallet Racking is a technique that involves the stable storage of various sized pallets. Any pallet could be accessed at any time, that allows a First In First Out or Last In First Out method. It permits the rack to change shape and grow depending upon every day needs. This system 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 method means fewer pallets could be handled within the environment. This may not make a difference if there is sufficient space available.
Similar to Pallet Racking, the technique referred to as Narrow Aisle Racking allows a First In First Out or Last In First Out method. It varies in that a special narrow lift truck is used. This means that smaller spaces are necessary between the aisles of pallets than in the Pallet Racking technique. The benefit is that more product can be stored in the same space. The downside is that you will have to transition to a different type of truck if you already own a typical forklift truck. The cost of obtaining special machinery might be a deterrent to adopting this method of storage.
It is essential to use your lift truck to its full potential. It pays to consider your time expenditure in retrieval and storage of pallets. Afterward you can determine whether there are more effective means to use your forklift to increase the usable space of your units or to accelerate the process. Greater efficiency means bigger productivity.