Sometimes, it pays to examine the process of selecting a lift truck. Like for instance, does your company always select the same units for your dock work? If so, you could potentially miss out on a more effective truck. There might be other units on the market which offer less fatigue to operators and allow more to get done. You might be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more cost-effective manner. By doing some research and evaluation, you could determine if you have the best machinery to suit your requirements. By reducing operator fatigue, you can significantly increase your performance.
Several of the important factors to think about when determining forklift models which deal with particular problems consist of:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
You probably won't require a pricey lift truck to complete tasks if your shipping and receiving department loads only a few semi-trailers or box trucks a week. An inexpensive walkie-rider or walkie unit will be able to handle the task if: A 4500 to 6000 lb. capacity is enough 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 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 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 just load trucks in the shipping department, but replenish the manufacturing line, store inventory on racks, handle the paperwork associated with the loads, attach and scan bar codes and other jobs. Usually, the forklift operators who are constantly on and off of their lift trucks during their shifts find it less fatiguing and a lot faster to exit a stand-up control model, rather than a sit down type.