The forklift has become a vital piece of machinery able to lift and transport products and heavy supplies with both efficiency and speed. The way a company makes use of this tool can considerably affect its profitability.
A popular storage method is Free Stacking Pallets. This is a way to utilize your lift truck which is both easy and economical. Free Stacking Pallets involves placing one pallet over another to make a stack of products. This is a stable storage technique and is suggested when dealing with many pallets of similar dimensions and height or huge amounts of the same goods. The disadvantage of this particular technique is that it just enables access to the items put last, so it does not enable a First In First Out system.
Pallet Racking is a system that involves the stable storage of different sized pallets. Any pallet could be accessed at any time, that allows a Last In First Out or First In First Out system. It permits the rack to change shape and grow depending upon every day requirements. This system needs aisles that are adequately wide to allow a lift truck to freely access the racks and maneuver easily. The downside is that this specific technique means less pallets could be handled within the setting. This might not make a difference if there is sufficient space available.
Narrow aisle racking is like pallet racking in that it enables for a First In First Out or Last In First Out method. The difference in the method is how the special narrow forklift is used. This means that smaller spaces are necessary between the aisles of pallets than in the Pallet Racking method. The advantage is that more goods could be stored in the same area. The disadvantage is that you would have to transition to a new truck if you already own a regular lift truck. The cost of obtaining special machines might be a deterrent to implementing this system of storage.
Utilizing your lift truck to its fullest potential is vital as it pays to consider your storage costs and retrieval costs of pallets. Then you could find out whether there are more effective means to utilize your forklift in order to increase the usable area of your units or to accelerate the process. Greater efficiency equals bigger productivity.