It is quite important for several companies to examine the method of choosing a forklift. Like for instance, will your company select consistently the same unit for your warehouse or dock work? If this is so, you could be missing out on a more efficient forklift. There might be other models available on the market that offer less fatigue to operators and allow more to get accomplished. You may be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more cost-effective way. By doing some evaluation and research, you could determine if you have the right machine to meet all your requirements. By reducing operator fatigue, you could drastically increase your performance.
Some of the important factors to consider when determining forklift models that deal with particular problems include:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
You probably won't need an expensive lift truck to accomplish jobs if your shipping and receiving department loads only a few box trucks or semi-trailers per week. An inexpensive walkie-rider or walkie unit would be able to handle the job if: A 4500 to 6000 pound capacity is adequate and you do not need to stack loads inside the trailer. Lastly, you should think about 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 have to 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 fit into a standard 108 inch trailer door with no trouble. Their masts enable in-trailer stacking. These kinds of forklifts provide a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 lbs.
Operator Duties:
For material handling needs, each company has a slightly different system. Several lift truck operators will often unload and load goods in the shipping department in addition to storing things on inventory racks, replenish the manufacturing line, handle the paperwork associated with the loads, scan and attach bar codes and other tasks. Usually, the forklift operators who are always on and off of their lift trucks in their shifts find it a lot quicker and less fatiguing to exit a stand-up control unit, rather than a sit down kind.