The lift truck has become a vital piece of machinery able to lift and transport products and heavy supplies with both speed and efficiency. How a company makes use of this tool can significantly affect its productivity.
A common storage method is Free Stacking Pallets. This is a way to use your lift truck which is economical and easy. Free Stacking Pallets is placing one pallet on top of another to make a stack of products. This is a stable storage system and is recommended when handling large amounts of the same product, or many pallets of similar height and dimensions. The disadvantage of this method is that it just enables access to the items placed last, so it does not enable a First In First Out system.
It is important to have a pallet racking system which involves the stable storage of different sized pallets. Using a Last In First Out or First In First Out technique, would enable for easy access of any pallet. It enables the rack to grow and change shape depending upon every day requirements. This specific technique needs aisles that are wide enough to enable a lift truck to maneuver easily and to freely access the racks. The downside is that this specific method means fewer pallets can be handled within the environment. This might not make a difference if there is adequate space available.
Narrow aisle racking is like pallet racking in that it enables for a First In First Out or Last In First Out system. The difference in the system is how the special narrow forklift 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 can be stored in the same area. The downside is that you would have to transition to a different type of truck if you already own a regular forklift truck. The cost of acquiring special machinery may be a deterrent to adopting this method of storage.
It is essential to utilize your forklift truck to its full capability. It pays to analyze your time expenses in storage and retrieval of pallets. Then you could find out whether there are more efficient ways to utilize your forklift to increase the usable area of your units or to accelerate the process. Greater effectiveness means greater productivity.