Sometimes, only the smallest change is needed to make a big difference to your materials handling operation — especially when it affects such a time-consuming operation as order picking (which is also the most expensive process in the handling chain).
For order pickers who spend their working days walking along aisles, removing items from the racking and placing them onto pallets on their trucks, an additional feature as minor as rising forks could have huge benefits — both to their health, and also to their efficiency and productivity.
Instead of having to repeatedly bend down to place the items on the pallet, rising forks allow the operator to bring the pallet up to waist height. This means they can comfortably place the items on the truck more quickly, and without having to bend with the back or knees.
Doing this movement is no problem for most healthy people, even with slightly heavier items — but when you repeat it hundreds of times a day, every day, for months or years? That's a recipe for an injury, which leads to time off work for the worker, and higher costs and reduced productivity for the business.
Features like rising forks may marginally increase the cost of the forklift when you purchase it, compared with a standard model. However, this initial investment will pay off when the truck enters service thanks to the ergonomic benefits.
There's a huge number of similar small, smart features that can make a truck more ergonomic and effective in your materials handling operation. To discover them, click the button below to get our free guide, 6 ergonomic and safety features you need on your next forklift. Simply fill out the short form on the next page, and the guide will be yours.
Comment