The forklift truck is a vital tool to help employees raise and transport heavy weight materials and goods with efficiency and speed without injuring their bodies. The way a company makes use of this machinery could considerably affect its profitability.
Free stacking pallets is the most popular storage technique. Utilizing this storage method is both economical and easy for your lift truck. Free Stacking Pallets involves placing one pallet on top of another to make a stack of goods. This is a stable storage technique and is suggested when dealing with huge amounts of the same goods, or many pallets of similar height and dimensions. The disadvantage of this technique is that it just enables access to the items put last, so it does not allow a First In First Out system.
Pallet Racking is a system which involves the stable storage of different sized pallets. Any pallet can be accessed at any time, that allows a First In First Out or Last In First Out method. It enables the rack to grow and change shape depending upon every day needs. This particular system requires aisles that are wide enough to allow a lift truck to maneuver easily and to freely access the racks. The downside is that this system means less pallets can be handled in the environment. This might not make a difference if there is enough space available.
Narrow aisle racking is similar to pallet racking in that it enables for a First In First Out or Last In First Out method. The difference in the technique is how the special narrow forklift is utilized. This means that smaller spaces are necessary between the aisles of pallets than in the Pallet Racking method. The advantage is that much more product could be stored in the same area. The downside is that you will have to transition to a new truck if you already own a regular forklift truck. The cost of acquiring special machines may be a deterrent to adopting this specific system of storage.
It is important to utilize your forklift truck to its full capability. It pays to consider your time costs in storage and retrieval of pallets. Afterward you could find out whether there are more effective means to utilize your lift truck in order to accelerate the process or to increase the usable space of your units. Greater efficiency means greater productivity.