Before forklifts, employees relied on ladders to select inventory from warehouse shelves. This caused strain on the workers and reduced productivity rates.
Instead of using ladders, warehouses must invest in a range of forklifts to improve operations. Here are three key advantages of using forklifts in your warehouse.
Increased Productivity
Before forklifts became popular, warehouse employees would have to transport heavy crates and boxes with cables or pulley systems. These systems were far less safe and often caused injury to the worker and damage to products.
Using forklifts in the warehouse reduces workers’ time to complete tasks because they can move items much more quickly than by hand. This also means your workforce can complete more orders in a shorter period, which helps you meet consumer demands.
Providing your staff with proper training ensures they are familiar with and comfortable operating forklifts. This reduces the likelihood of accidents or breakdowns, resulting in costly downtime and lost productivity. It also enables them to operate the equipment efficiently, decreasing vehicle wear and tear. This, in turn, can help you avoid costly repairs and extend the lifespan of your forklift fleet.
Reduced Risk of Injury
While it is impossible to eliminate all workplace injuries, implementing forklifts in your warehouse operations can help reduce the risk of serious accidents. Forklift sales are designed to safely move heavy loads and even oversized items, requiring less human labor to transfer products to their next destinations.
The primary causes of forklift accidents include improper loading, reckless driving, and mechanical failures. Accidents can also occur when a forklift travels too quickly or enters an unsafe area.
Using geofencing, a forklift driver can be alerted when their vehicle enters an unsafe zone, reducing the chance of collisions and accidents.
In addition to physical injury, forklift accidents can result in costly property damage. If a forklift crashes into shelves, damages inventory, or pierces product packaging, it can lead to expensive repairs and lost productivity. By prioritizing safety and ensuring that operators are properly trained, warehouses can minimize the risk of these incidents.
Reduced Maintenance Costs
Before forklifts, many warehouses and factories relied on cables, ropes, and pulley systems to transport heavy crates and other items from one place to another. This method was incredibly dangerous for the workers and those working around it.
Today, companies can save money on costly maintenance by implementing a regular schedule of forklift inspections and maintenance. This prevents breakdowns, prolongs the lifespan of the equipment, and helps reduce downtime.
Another way to cut down on maintenance costs is to use the right type of forklift for each job. Order pickers, narrow aisle trucks, and reach trucks are all designed to serve specific functions, and using the wrong forklift can lead to increased wear and tear.
For a lower upfront cost, consider purchasing used forklifts that your team is familiar with rather than investing in new equipment. Burns offers a variety of used forklift options that can help you stay within your budget.
Increased Safety
Before forklifts were widely used, warehouses had to transport crates and goods using roper systems or pulleys. This was dangerous to the workers and the equipment as the cables could snap, harming workers and damaging stock. With forklift rental, these issues are avoided completely, and workers can focus on other tasks, boosting productivity rates.
Forklift training teaches warehouse workers to operate the machinery correctly, which reduces mistakes and incidents. This, in turn, helps to reduce maintenance costs and extends the lifespan of your forklift fleet. Also, warehouses can use specialized reach trucks to access high locations without ladders. This is ideal for warehouses with narrow aisles where they may need more room to maneuver a standard forklift. In these cases, the specialized design of narrow aisle forklifts can help them work efficiently in tighter spaces and maximize storage space. This allows you to increase the number of items stored within your warehouse and improve overall productivity.
