The lift truck is a very important machinery to help workers raise and move heavy weight supplies and products with speed and efficiency without straining their bodies. The way a company makes use of this machinery could significantly affect its profitability.
Free stacking pallets is the most common storage method. Using this storage method is both easy and economical for your lift truck. Free Stacking Pallets is placing one pallet over another to create a stack of products. This is a stable storage system and is recommended when dealing with many pallets of the same dimensions and height or huge amounts of the similar goods. The disadvantage of this method is that it just allows access to the things placed last, so it does not enable a First In First Out system.
Pallet Racking is a technique which involves the stable storage of various sized pallets. Any pallet could be accessed at any time, that enables a Last In First Out or First In First Out method. It allows the rack to change shape and grow depending upon every day needs. This specific technique needs aisles which are wide enough to enable a lift truck to maneuver easily and to freely access the racks. The disadvantage is that this particular system means less pallets could be handled in the setting. This may not matter if there is adequate space available.
Like Pallet Racking, the technique referred to as Narrow Aisle Racking enables a Last In First Out or First In First Out system. It differs in that a special narrow lift truck is used. This means that smaller spaces are required between the aisles of pallets than in the Pallet Racking way. The benefit is that more product can be stored in the same space. The disadvantage is that you would have to transition to a new truck if you already own a standard lift truck. The expenditure of acquiring special equipment may be a deterrent to adopting this technique of storage.
Using your lift truck to its fullest capability is essential because it pays to consider your retrieval costs and storage costs of pallets. Then you can find out whether there are more efficient ways to utilize your lift truck to speed up the process or to increase the usable area of your units. Greater effectiveness means greater profitability.