Sometimes, it pays to examine the method of selecting a lift truck. 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 various other units on the market which allow more to get done because they provide less fatigue to operators. You might be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more cost-effective way. By doing some evaluation and research, you can determine if you have the best machine to suit all of your requirements. By reducing operator fatigue, you can drastically increase your performance.
When determining forklift units that address your specific issues several of the important factors to think about may consist of:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
If your shipping department just loads out a few box trucks or semi-trailers per week, then you probably won't require an expensive lift truck to complete the tasks. An inexpensive walkie-rider or walkie model will be able to handle the job if: A 4500 to 6000 lb. capacity is adequate and you do not need to stack loads in the trailer. Last but not least, you need to 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 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 model or a walkie-rider. These battery-powered forklifts easily fit into a standard 108 inch trailer door. Their masts allow in-trailer stacking. These forklifts provide a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 lbs.
Operator Duties:
For material handling needs, every business has a slightly different system. Some lift truck operators would usually unload and load goods in the shipping department as well as storing items on inventory racks, replenish the manufacturing line, handle the paperwork associated with the loads, attach and scan bar codes and other jobs. Usually, the forklift operators who are always on and off of their lift trucks during their shifts find it less fatiguing and much quicker to exit a stand-up control unit, rather than a sit down type.