Sometimes, it pays to examine the method of choosing a forklift. Like for example, does your company consistently choose the same units for your dock work? If so, you could potentially miss out on a more efficient truck. There may be other models on the market that provide less fatigue to operators and enable more to get done. 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 right machine to meet all your requirements. By reducing operator fatigue, you could drastically increase your performance.
Some of the key factors to think about when determining forklift units that deal with particular issues include:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
You probably won't need a pricey lift truck to complete jobs if your shipping and receiving department loads only a few semi-trailers or box trucks a week. A less expensive walkie model or walkie-rider would be able to handle the task if: A 4500 to 6000 lb. capacity is adequate and you do not need to stack loads inside the trailer. Lastly, you must 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 since the small load wheels must travel over the dock plate.
If on the other hand, your shipping facility is consistently loading trailers, than a stand-up end control would make more sense over a walkie-rider or a walkie model. These battery-powered forklifts easily fit into a standard 108 inch trailer door. Their masts allow in-trailer stacking. These kinds of forklifts provide a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 lbs.
Operator Duties:
For material handling requirements, every business has a slightly different system. Several forklift operators would often load and unload goods in the shipping department in addition to storing things on inventory racks, handle the paperwork associated with the loads, replenish the manufacturing line, scan and attach bar codes and other jobs. Normally, the forklift operators who are constantly on and off of their lift trucks 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.