The lift truck is a very important machinery to help workers raise and transport heavy weight materials and goods with efficiency and speed without straining their bodies. The way a company makes use of this machinery can significantly affect its profitability.
A common storage technique is Free Stacking Pallets. This is a way to use your forklift which is both easy and economical. Free Stacking Pallets is placing one pallet over another to create a stack of goods. This is a stable storage technique and is recommended when handling large amounts of similar goods, or many pallets of similar dimensions and height. The disadvantage of this specific technique is that it just enables access to the objects placed last, so it does not allow a First In First Out system.
Pallet Racking is a system which involves the stable storage of different sized pallets. Any pallet can be accessed at any time, that allows a Last In First Out or First In First Out system. It permits the rack to grow and change shape depending upon daily requirements. This specific method requires aisles that are adequately wide to allow a forklift to maneuver easily and to freely access the racks. The downside is that this specific technique means less pallets can be handled within the environment. This might not make a difference if there is sufficient space available.
Similar to Pallet Racking, the technique known as Narrow Aisle Racking allows a Last In First Out or First In First Out technique. It varies in that a special narrow forklift is used. This means that smaller spaces are required between the aisles of pallets than in the Pallet Racking method. The advantage is that much more goods could be stored in the same space. The downside 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 may be a deterrent to adopting this specific system of storage.
It is important to utilize your lift truck to its full capability. It pays to consider your time costs in retrieval and storage of pallets. Afterward you could find out whether there are more efficient means to use your lift truck to increase the usable area of your units or to accelerate the process. Greater effectiveness means greater profitability.