The forklift has become a crucial piece of machine able to lift and move things and heavy materials with both efficiency and speed. How a business uses this machinery can significantly affect its productivity.
A popular storage technique is Free Stacking Pallets. This is a way to use your lift truck that is economical and easy. Free Stacking Pallets involves placing one pallet on top of another to make a stack of products. This is a stable storage system and is recommended when dealing with large amounts of the same product, or many pallets of the same height and dimensions. The disadvantage of this technique is that it just enables access to the items placed last, so it does not allow a First In First Out system.
Pallet Racking is a system which involves the stable storage of various sized pallets. Any pallet can be accessed at any time, which enables a Last In First Out or First In First Out system. It enables the rack to change shape and grow depending upon every day needs. This particular method requires aisles which are sufficiently wide to allow a forklift to maneuver easily and to freely access the racks. The downside is that this technique means fewer pallets could be handled in the environment. This may not make a difference if there is sufficient space available.
Like Pallet Racking, the method called Narrow Aisle Racking enables a Last In First Out or First In First Out system. It differs in that a special narrow forklift is utilized. This means that smaller areas are necessary between the aisles of pallets than in the Pallet Racking way. The advantage is that much more goods could be kept in the same area. The downside is that you will have to transition to a new truck if you already own a typical forklift truck. The cost of acquiring special equipment might be a deterrent to implementing this technique of storage.
It is vital to use your forklift truck to its full capability. It pays to consider your time expenses in retrieval and storage of pallets. Afterward you could find out whether there are more efficient means to use your lift truck to accelerate the process or to increase the usable area of your units. Greater efficiency equals bigger profitability.