The forklift truck is a vital machine to help employees raise and transport heavy weight materials and products with speed and efficiency without straining their bodies. How a business uses this machinery could significantly affect its productivity.
A common storage technique is Free Stacking Pallets. This is a way to utilize your forklift which is easy and economical. Free Stacking Pallets involves positioning one pallet on top of another to create a stack of goods. This is a stable storage system and is recommended when handling large amounts of the same product, or numerous pallets of similar height and dimensions. The disadvantage of this specific method is that it just allows access to the objects put last, so it does not enable a First In First Out system.
Pallet Racking is a system that involves the stable storage of different sized pallets. Any pallet could be accessed at any time, which allows a First In First Out or Last In First Out technique. It permits the rack to change shape and grow depending upon daily requirements. This method needs aisles which are wide enough to enable a forklift to maneuver easily and to freely access the racks. The downside is that this particular system means fewer pallets can be handled in the environment. This may not make a difference if there is adequate space available.
Similar to Pallet Racking, the technique called Narrow Aisle Racking enables a First In First Out or Last In First Out technique. It differs in that a special narrow lift truck is used. This means that smaller spaces are required 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 disadvantage is that you will have to transition to a new truck if you already own a standard lift truck. The expenditure of acquiring special equipment might be a deterrent to implementing this particular technique of storage.
It is important to use your forklift truck to its full capability. It pays to consider your time costs in retrieval and storage of pallets. After that you can determine whether there are more effective ways to utilize your lift truck to increase the usable space of your units or to accelerate the process. Greater effectiveness equals greater productivity.