The forklift has become a vital piece of machine that can raise and transport products and heavy materials with both efficiency and speed. The way a business utilizes this machinery can considerably affect its profitability.
Free stacking pallets is the most common storage technique. Utilizing this storage method is both easy and economical for your forklift. Free Stacking Pallets involves placing one pallet over another to make a stack of products. This is a stable storage system and is suggested when handling huge amounts of the same goods, or many pallets of similar dimensions and height. The disadvantage of this method is that it just allows access to the things put last, so it does not allow 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 system, would enable for easy access of any pallet. It allows the rack to grow and change shape depending upon every day requirements. This particular system needs aisles that are sufficiently wide to allow a forklift to maneuver easily and to freely access the racks. The downside is that this method means fewer pallets can be handled in the environment. This may not make a difference if there is enough space available.
Narrow aisle racking is similar to pallet racking in that it allows for a Last In First Out or First In First Out method. The difference in the method 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 kept in the same space. The downside is that you would have to transition to a different kind of truck if you already own a typical forklift truck. The cost of obtaining special machines may be a deterrent to adopting this method of storage.
Utilizing your forklift to its fullest capability is vital because it pays to analyze your retrieval costs and storage costs of pallets. Afterward you could determine whether there are more efficient ways to utilize your forklift to speed up the process or to increase the usable space of your units. Greater effectiveness means greater profitability.