The lift truck is a vital machine to help employees lift and move heavy weight supplies and products with speed and efficiency without straining their bodies. The way a company makes use of this machine could considerably affect its profitability.
Free stacking pallets is the most common storage method. Using this storage method is both economical and easy for your forklift. Free Stacking Pallets involves positioning one pallet on top of another to make a stack of products. This is a stable storage system and is recommended when dealing with huge amounts of similar goods, or numerous pallets of similar height and dimensions. The drawback of this specific method is that it only enables access to the things placed last, so it does not enable a First In First Out system.
It is vital to have a pallet racking technique which involves the stable storage of various sized pallets. Using a Last In First Out or First In First Out system, would allow for easy access of any pallet. It permits the rack to change shape and grow depending upon daily needs. This method requires aisles that are sufficiently wide to enable a lift truck to freely access the racks and easily maneuver. The downside is that this particular technique means less pallets could be handled in the setting. This may not matter if there is sufficient space available.
Like Pallet Racking, the technique called Narrow Aisle Racking allows a First In First Out or Last In First Out technique. It varies in that a special narrow lift truck is used. This means that smaller areas are necessary between the aisles of pallets than in the Pallet Racking method. The advantage is that more product can be stored in the same space. The downside is that you would have to transition to a new truck if you already own a regular lift truck. The cost of obtaining special equipment might be a deterrent to implementing this technique of storage.
It is important to utilize your forklift truck to its full capability. It pays to analyze your time costs in storage and retrieval of pallets. Afterward you could find out whether there are more efficient means to use your lift truck to accelerate the process or to increase the usable space of your units. Greater efficiency means bigger profitability.