Sometimes, it pays to examine the method of selecting a forklift. Like for instance, does your business always select the same units for your dock work? If so, you could potentially miss out on a more efficient truck. There may be other models on the market that enable more to get accomplished as they offer less fatigue to operators. You might be able to take advantage of loading trailers in a more cost-effective way. By doing some evaluation and research, you can determine if you have the right equipment to suit all of your requirements. By reducing operator fatigue, you could drastically increase your performance.
Some of the important factors to consider when determining forklift units that deal with specific problems include:
Trailer Loading Frequency:
If your shipping department only loads out a few box trucks or semi-trailers a week, then you probably won't need a pricey forklift to complete the job. An inexpensive walkie model or walkie-rider would be able to handle the task if: You are not required to stack loads inside the trailer, and a 4500 to 6000 lb. capacity is sufficient. Last but not least, you should consider whether or not the transition from the dock floor to the dock leveler and into the trailer is not too jarring for the operator as the small load wheels need to travel over the dock plate.
If on the other hand, your shipping facility is consistently loading trailers, than a stand-up end control would make more sense over a walkie-rider or a walkie model. These battery-powered forklifts easily fit into a standard 108 inch trailer door. Their masts allow in-trailer stacking. These forklifts offer a model capacity range from 3000 to 4000 lbs.
Operator Duties:
Every business has a slightly different system for material handling. In some circumstances, several forklift operators not only load trucks in the shipping department, but store inventory on racks, replenish the manufacturing line, handle the paperwork connected with the cargo, attach and scan bar codes and other jobs. Generally, the forklift operators who are constantly on and off of their forklifts during their shifts find it less fatiguing and much quicker to exit a stand-up control model, rather than a sit down kind.