The lift truck has become a crucial piece of equipment that could lift and transport things and heavy supplies with both efficiency and speed. How a company makes use of this machinery could considerably affect its profitability.
Free stacking pallets is the most popular storage technique. Utilizing this storage technique is both easy and economical for your forklift. Free Stacking Pallets involves positioning one pallet on top of another to create a stack of products. This is a stable storage system and is recommended when dealing with large amounts of the same goods, or many pallets of similar dimensions and height. The drawback of this technique is that it only enables access to the things put last, so it does not allow a First In First Out system.
It is vital to have a pallet racking system which involves the stable storage of various sized pallets. Utilizing a Last In First Out or First In First Out technique, would allow for easy access of any pallet. It enables the rack to grow and change shape depending upon daily requirements. This specific method requires aisles that 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 within the environment. This may not make a difference if there is sufficient space available.
Like Pallet Racking, the technique referred to as Narrow Aisle Racking allows a First In First Out or Last In First Out method. It differs in that a special narrow forklift is used. This means that smaller areas are required between the aisles of pallets than in the Pallet Racking method. The advantage is that much more goods can be kept in the same area. The disadvantage is that you would have to transition to a different type of truck if you already own a standard lift truck. The expenditure of obtaining special equipment might be a deterrent to adopting this specific method of storage.
Using your lift truck to its fullest potential is vital as it pays to consider your retrieval costs and storage costs of pallets. Then you can determine whether there are more efficient means to use your lift truck to speed up the process or to increase the usable area of your units. Greater effectiveness equals greater profitability.