The lift truck is a very important machinery to help employees raise and move heavy weight supplies and goods with efficiency and speed without injuring their bodies. How a company utilizes this machine can significantly affect its productivity.
Free stacking pallets is the most common storage technique. Using this storage technique is both economical and easy for your forklift. Free Stacking Pallets involves positioning one pallet on top of another to create a stack of products. This is a stable storage system and is recommended when handling many pallets of the same dimensions and height or large amounts of the same product. The disadvantage of this specific system is that it only enables access to the things placed last, so it does not enable a First In First Out system.
Pallet Racking is a system which involves the stable storage of different sized pallets. Any pallet could be accessed at any time, that enables a Last In First Out or First In First Out method. It permits the rack to change shape and grow depending upon every day needs. This particular method needs aisles that are sufficiently wide to allow a forklift to maneuver easily and to freely access the racks. The disadvantage is that this system means fewer pallets could be handled in the environment. This might not matter if there is enough space available.
Like Pallet Racking, the technique referred to as Narrow Aisle Racking enables a Last In First Out or First In First Out system. It differs in that a special narrow forklift is used. This means that smaller areas are required between the aisles of pallets than in the Pallet Racking way. The benefit is that more goods can be kept in the same space. The disadvantage is that you would have to transition to a different kind of truck if you already own a standard lift truck. The cost of obtaining special machinery might be a deterrent to adopting this method of storage.
It is essential to use your lift truck to its full capability. It pays to analyze your time costs in storage and retrieval of pallets. Then you can determine whether there are more effective ways to utilize your forklift to increase the usable space of your units or to speed up the process. Greater effectiveness equals bigger profitability.