The lift truck has become a crucial piece of machine that can lift and transport things and heavy materials with both speed and efficiency. How a business makes use of this tool could significantly affect its profitability.
Free stacking pallets is the most common storage technique. Using this storage system 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 products. This is a stable storage technique and is suggested when dealing with numerous pallets of the same height and dimensions or huge amounts of the similar product. The disadvantage of this particular method is that it only allows access to the things put last, so it does not enable a First In First Out system.
Pallet Racking is a system which involves the stable storage of different sized pallets. Any pallet could be accessed at any time, which enables a Last In First Out or First In First Out system. It permits the rack to change shape and grow depending upon daily needs. This system needs aisles that are wide enough to enable a forklift to freely access the racks and maneuver easily. The disadvantage is that this technique means less pallets can be handled in the setting. This might not matter 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 system. The difference in the technique is how the special narrow lift truck is used. This means that smaller areas are necessary between the aisles of pallets than in the Pallet Racking technique. The advantage is that more goods can be kept 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 acquiring special equipment might be a deterrent to adopting this method of storage.
Using your forklift to its fullest potential is important as it pays to consider your retrieval costs and storage costs of pallets. Then you can find out whether there are more effective ways to utilize your lift truck to accelerate the process or to increase the usable area of your units. Greater efficiency means bigger profitability.