The forklift has become a crucial piece of equipment that can lift and move things and heavy supplies with both speed and efficiency. The way a company utilizes this tool can significantly affect its productivity.
A popular storage technique is Free Stacking Pallets. This is a way to utilize your lift truck which is economical and easy. Free Stacking Pallets is positioning one pallet over another to create a stack of products. This is a stable storage method and is suggested when dealing with large amounts of similar goods, or numerous pallets of similar dimensions and height. The drawback of this particular method is that it only allows access to the things put last, so it does not enable a First In First Out system.
Pallet Racking is a method which involves the stable storage of various sized pallets. Any pallet can be accessed at any time, that enables a First In First Out or Last In First Out technique. It allows the rack to change shape and grow depending upon daily requirements. This method requires aisles that are adequately wide to enable a forklift to maneuver easily and to freely access the racks. The downside is that this particular technique means less pallets could be handled in the environment. This may not make a difference if there is adequate space available.
Narrow aisle racking is like pallet racking in that it enables for a Last In First Out or First In First Out system. The difference in the system is how the special narrow lift truck is utilized. This means that smaller areas are necessary between the aisles of pallets than in the Pallet Racking method. The benefit is that much more product could 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 obtaining special machinery may be a deterrent to adopting this system of storage.
Utilizing your forklift to its fullest potential is important because it pays to consider your retrieval costs and storage costs of pallets. After that you could determine whether there are more effective means to use your lift truck in order to accelerate the process or to increase the usable area of your units. Greater efficiency means greater productivity.