The lift truck has become a vital piece of equipment able to raise and move products and heavy supplies with both speed and efficiency. How a business uses this machinery can significantly affect its profitability.
A common storage technique is Free Stacking Pallets. This is a way to utilize your lift truck that is economical and easy. Free Stacking Pallets involves placing one pallet on top of another to create a stack of goods. This is a stable storage technique and is recommended when handling large amounts of similar goods, or many pallets of similar height and dimensions. The drawback of this particular technique is that it just enables access to the objects placed last, so it does not allow a First In First Out system.
It is vital to have a pallet racking system that involves the stable storage of various sized pallets. Utilizing a First In First Out or Last In First Out technique, will allow for easy access of any pallet. It allows the rack to grow and change shape depending upon daily requirements. This method requires aisles that are adequately wide to enable a forklift to freely access the racks and easily maneuver. The downside is that this specific technique means fewer pallets can be handled in the environment. This might not matter if there is sufficient space available.
Narrow aisle racking is like pallet racking in that it allows for a Last In First Out or First In First Out method. The difference in the method is how the special narrow lift truck 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 product could be stored in the same area. The disadvantage is that you will have to transition to a new truck if you already own a standard lift truck. The expenditure of obtaining special equipment might be a deterrent to adopting this technique of storage.
It is essential to use your lift truck to its full capability. It pays to consider your time expenditure in storage and retrieval of pallets. Afterward you can find out whether there are more effective ways to use your lift truck to speed up the process or to increase the usable space of your units. Greater efficiency means greater profitability.