There are times it pays to examine the method of selecting a lift truck. Like for instance, 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 may be other units on the market that enable more to get accomplished as they offer less exhaustion to operators. You may be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more effective manner. By doing some research and evaluation, you could determine if you have the right machinery to suit all of your needs. By reducing operator fatigue, you can drastically increase your performance.
When determining forklift models which deal with your particular issues some of the important factors to think about could consist of:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
You probably won't need an expensive lift truck to complete jobs if your shipping and receiving department loads just a few box trucks or semi-trailers per week. An inexpensive walkie model or walkie-rider would be able to deal with the job if: A 4500 to 6000 lb. capacity is sufficient and you do not need to stack loads in the trailer. Last but not least, you have to 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 need 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 model or a walkie-rider. These battery-powered forklifts easily fit into a standard 108 inch trailer door. Their masts enable in-trailer stacking. These types of forklifts offer a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 lbs.
Operator Duties:
Every business has a slightly different system for material handling. In some circumstances, some forklift operators not just load trucks in the shipping department, but replenish the manufacturing line, store inventory on racks, handle the paperwork connected with the loads, scan and attach bar codes and other tasks. Generally, the forklift operators who are constantly on and off of their forklifts during their shifts find it a lot quicker and less fatiguing to exit a stand-up control model, as opposed to a sit down kind.