The forklift has become a vital piece of equipment that could lift and transport things and heavy supplies with both speed and efficiency. How a company uses this machine could significantly affect its profitability.
Free stacking pallets is the most common storage method. Utilizing this storage method is both easy and economical for your lift truck. Free Stacking Pallets is placing one pallet on top of another to create a stack of products. This is a stable storage method and is recommended when handling many pallets of similar height and dimensions or huge amounts of the same product. The disadvantage of this specific system is that it only allows access to the objects placed last, so it does not allow a First In First Out system.
Pallet Racking is a technique which involves the stable storage of different sized pallets. Any pallet could be accessed at any time, that enables a Last In First Out or First In First Out system. It enables the rack to change shape and grow depending upon daily needs. This technique needs aisles which are sufficiently wide to enable a lift truck to freely access the racks and maneuver easily. The disadvantage is that this method means less pallets can be handled in the setting. This may not matter if there is adequate space available.
Narrow aisle racking is like pallet racking in that it allows for a Last In First Out or First In First Out technique. The difference in the system 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 way. The advantage is that more product could be kept in the same area. The disadvantage is that you would have to transition to a new truck if you already own a typical forklift truck. The cost of acquiring special machines might be a deterrent to adopting this technique of storage.
Utilizing your lift truck to its fullest potential is essential since it pays to analyze your retrieval costs and storage costs of pallets. After that you could determine whether there are more efficient ways to utilize your lift truck in order to accelerate the process or to increase the usable space of your units. Greater effectiveness equals bigger productivity.