There are times it pays to examine the method of selecting a lift truck. For example, does your company always select the same models for your dock work? If so, you can potentially miss out on a more efficient truck. There may be various other models on the market which offer less exhaustion to operators and allow more to get accomplished. You might be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more effective way. By doing some research and evaluation, you can determine if you have the best machinery to suit all of your requirements. By reducing operator exhaustion, you can significantly increase your performance.
When determining forklift models which address your specific issues some of the important factors to think about could include:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
You probably won't need a pricey 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 will be able to handle the job if: You are not required to stack loads in the trailer, and a 4500 to 6000 lb. capacity is enough. Lastly, 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 as the small load wheels should 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 types of forklifts offer a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 pounds.
Operator Duties:
Each company has a slightly different system for material handling. In certain circumstances, several forklift operators not only load trucks in the shipping department, but store inventory on racks, replenish the manufacturing line, handle the paperwork associated with the cargo, scan and attach bar codes and other tasks. Generally, the forklift operators who are constantly on and off of their forklifts in their shifts find it less tiring and much faster to exit a stand-up control unit, rather than a sit down type.