What are the best applications and things to watch out for?
Any, but not limited to, warehousing work. This equipment will run to heights of over 12m, I have some working quite happily at 11m but there are some basics to consider:
13m takes longer to reach than 7m and your costs of operating high loads to those heights goes up with time and lower weight restrictions.
If you also want to manually pick in the aisles, trolleys and pallets need to pass each other. 1600mm is impressive for warehousing but awkward for pickers.
If you are going very high plan your warehouse management system carefully, otherwise you will have cross drivers waiting whilst you get your most popular items down from the highest, furthest, slowest points and you may find what you gain in height you lose in supplier discounts.
Most applications don't require cameras under 6m
Think about turning the truck at aisle ends and marshalling carefully.
One of these trucks can usually handle about 128 cycles a shift off a lorry into the rack so I have been reliably informed - it is worth a thought at all events.
Make sure doors (heights) and fork truck masts are matched!!
Manufacturing industry will be just as happy if they need to use fork lift trucks in production space, a smaller operating space means more production space, a 4m aisle is a lot of machine tool space!
If you intend to use these trucks for other applications such as ro-ro cargo handling on raised docks direct to trailer seek advice.
You will need conversion driver courses and time for drivers to adapt to the new equipment. It varies from about £500.00 per day but will often include several drivers. They usually last between 3 and 5 days and certificates are issued on successful completion.
They can be used for drive in applications but seek advice. This was not part of the original design vision and other equipment is likely to perform such a task with greater agility.
Avoid excessively long aisles without access breaks
If I could give any advice to the troubled new build project manager it would be:
Plan the lighting with the racking
Check your floor loadings, especially on piled ground
Doors and mast heights matter
Beware of slopes, especially around loading bays
Plan charging stations and requirements carefully
Trucks can take up to 15 weeks to design and make
Electricity supplies can be about a 12 month wait
Structural engineers are cheaper than re-work!
There are many alternative building designs to achieve budgets and time lines
Used equipment is an unregulated market place.
Give yourself quality time with these expert engineers, it's the best investment you will ever make
Front wheel, rear wheel, all wheel drives
The argument for these drive systems is not likely to die down. Bendi stand by rear wheel drive. Their success was hard won and it still accounts for 60% of their output but you do have other choices. Flexi have very strong technical arguments surrounding the efficiencies for front wheel drive and their equipment has some very pleasing and functional design lines and has caught the attention of other manufacturers and customers alike and are gaining ground as awareness grows, but they also will provide drive solutions that will accommodate the needs of your business. Aislemaster are probably the ones to watch. New into the market by comparison they have a very strong engineering bias and they don't view the market in the same way as the others. For this reason they have an arsenal of weapons to deal with warehousing issues in ways the others can't match and they are experts in all drive systems and not afraid to pioneer solutions.
Cost
In my experience you need to be very wary of any 'deals' below £20,000 but it is not hard to part with £40,000 for this amazing equipment and if you think that is expensive wait until you try to move warehouse. This equipment really 'works out' your business and it will sweat your asset removing the Teflon coating from the fixed cost of operations so that money then sticks to your business.
These incredible engineers set out to save you money and they put theirs on the line to prove to you that they meant it. The wrong trucks cost industry well over a billion pounds a year in damage and inefficiency - you now have a choice you can trust and better still it is an idea pioneered on our little islands that is providing great opportunities and felling operating costs on a global basis.
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