The forklift has become a vital piece of machinery that could raise and transport things and heavy supplies with both efficiency and speed. The way a business utilizes this machinery can significantly affect its productivity.
Free stacking pallets is the most popular storage technique. Using this storage technique is both easy and economical for your forklift. Free Stacking Pallets is placing one pallet over another to make a stack of goods. This is a stable storage system and is recommended when dealing with numerous pallets of the same dimensions and height or large amounts of the same goods. The disadvantage of this specific technique is that it just enables access to the items placed last, so it does not enable a First In First Out system.
Pallet Racking is a technique which involves the stable storage of various sized pallets. Any pallet could be accessed at any time, which enables a First In First Out or Last In First Out method. It permits the rack to grow and change shape depending upon every day requirements. This specific method requires aisles which are sufficiently wide to enable a lift truck to maneuver easily and to freely access the racks. The downside is that this system means less pallets could be handled within the environment. This might not matter if there is sufficient space available.
Similar to Pallet Racking, the method called Narrow Aisle Racking enables a Last In First Out or First In First Out system. It varies in that a special narrow forklift is utilized. This means that smaller areas are required between the aisles of pallets than in the Pallet Racking way. The advantage is that more product can be stored in the same space. The downside is that you would have to transition to a different type of truck if you already own a standard forklift truck. The cost of obtaining special equipment might be a deterrent to adopting this particular method of storage.
Using your lift truck to its fullest potential is important since it pays to consider your retrieval costs and storage costs of pallets. After that you can find out whether there are more effective ways to use your lift truck in order to speed up the process or to increase the usable area of your units. Greater effectiveness means bigger productivity.