Nearly every industrial operation from warehousing and distribution to any industry that involves bulk or heavy material handling will employ a significant forklift fleet. Efficient material handling is the cornerstone of a highly productive process via the elimination of bottlenecks. With the prevalence of lift fleets, finding ways to utilize the vehicles beyond material handling offers a huge cost savings.
Forklifts are a unique vehicle with many different uses. The speed, maneuverability, and power of a lift can be applied in many more ways than just hauling pallets.
High Elevation Work
Whether it is maintenance work on an overhead system or a new construction for facility expansion, there is always elevated work to be done. Having dedicated vehicles, such as scissor lifts, to perform this work is wasteful since this feature can be integrated into an existing fleet with the use of man lifts.
Man lifts come in many shapes and sizes, but they are ultimately a safe way to lift personnel, their equipment and tools, plus light loads for elevated work. A secure carriage with cross bars is mounted onto the forks of a lift and can be raised and maneuvered like any load. A man lift is one of the few approved ways to lift a worker in an OSHA approved manner.
While some people may want to take safety for granted and simply stand on a pallet, a man lift is much more safe and effective especially for long term use. The man lift also provides a tie off point for lanyards and fall-arrest systems for additional layers of protection.
Booms, Hoists, And Accessories
Forklift accessories come in every shape and size to broaden the range of work that one vehicle can do. Some are manually locked into position, others are powered by the lift's own drive system, and some replace the tines entirely.
Boom attachments offer an alternate approach to lifting and positioning loads. Pole attachments can replace the standard fork tines in order to lift and move metal coils, carpet rolls, or any other long, round load. Hydraulic clamps give an operator the ability to open and close around a load, squeezing cartons, boxes and bales in order to pick them up. Similarly, drum handling attachments work wonders in the chemical industry with a spring loaded jaw that can lift drums by the lip edge.
Telescopic forks can be extended to handle two pallets or loads simultaneously, cutting movement time in half. For handling unbalanced or asymmetric skids, a rotator attachment can be used to shift the center of gravity. Hoppers and containers can also be dumped by rotating the forks to one side.
Maintaining a forklift fleet can be costly, but they are very necessary for industrial work. With added accessories, such as man lifts, they can easily be adapted to performing multiple tasks. This versatility adds to a fleet's value and helps to create profitability through cost savings on additional hardware for specific applications. Lifts can offer a wide range of services.
