The lift truck has become a crucial piece of machinery that could raise and transport things and heavy supplies with both efficiency and speed. The way a company utilizes this machine can considerably affect its productivity.
Free stacking pallets is the most common storage technique. Utilizing this storage method is both economical and easy for your lift truck. Free Stacking Pallets involves placing one pallet over another to make a stack of goods. This is a stable storage technique and is recommended when dealing with huge amounts of similar product, or many pallets of similar dimensions and height. The disadvantage of this particular method is that it just enables access to the objects put last, so it does not enable a First In First Out system.
It is essential to have a pallet racking system that involves the stable storage of different sized pallets. Using a Last In First Out or First In First Out technique, will enable for easy access of any pallet. It allows the rack to change shape and grow depending upon every day needs. This system requires aisles which are wide enough to enable a lift truck to maneuver easily and to freely access the racks. The downside is that this technique means less pallets can be handled in the environment. This may not matter if there is enough space available.
Similar to Pallet Racking, the technique called Narrow Aisle Racking enables a Last In First Out or First In First Out technique. It varies in that a special narrow lift truck is used. This means that smaller spaces are required between the aisles of pallets than in the Pallet Racking technique. The advantage is that a lot more product can be kept in the same space. The disadvantage is that you would have to transition to a new truck if you already own a standard forklift truck. The expenditure of acquiring special machinery might be a deterrent to adopting this system of storage.
It is essential to utilize your lift truck to its full capability. It pays to analyze your time costs in retrieval and storage of pallets. Then you can determine whether there are more efficient ways to use your lift truck in order to speed up the process or to increase the usable space of your units. Greater effectiveness equals bigger profitability.