There are times it pays to examine the method of choosing a lift truck. Like for example, does your business 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 models on the market which provide less fatigue to operators and enable more to get accomplished. You might be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more cost-effective way. By doing some research and evaluation, you could determine if you have the best machinery to meet your requirements. By reducing operator fatigue, you can drastically increase your performance.
Some of the important factors to consider when determining forklift units which deal with particular concerns consist of:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
You probably won't require an expensive forklift to complete jobs if your shipping and receiving department loads only a few semi-trailers or box trucks a week. A cheaper walkie-rider or walkie model would be able to handle the job if: A 4500 to 6000 pound capacity is adequate and you do not need to stack loads in the trailer. Last of all, you must 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 as the small load wheels must travel over the dock plate.
If your shipping facility is always loading trailers however, a stand-up end control unit could 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 forklifts offer a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 pounds.
Operator Duties:
Each business has a slightly different system for material handling. In some circumstances, several forklift operators not only load trucks in the shipping department, but replenish the manufacturing line, store inventory on racks, handle the paperwork connected with the loads, attach and scan bar codes and other jobs. Generally, the forklift operators who are always on and off of their lift trucks during their shifts find it less tiring and much faster to exit a stand-up control model, as opposed to a sit down kind.