The warehouse space and efficiency maximization require strategic thinking. To ensure maximum space utilization in a storage facility, your storage facility will require shelving and racking systems, which will increase storage space vertically without the need for additional floor space. Increasing the efficiency in a warehouse, on the other hand, requires you to have the appropriate material handling equipment.
So, how do you achieve efficiency and optimum space maximization simultaneously?
Since most of the employees in a warehouse are paid hourly, ensuring that they deliver as much value during their working hours will increase the level of efficiency in your warehouse.
Proper multifarious material handling equipment will further increase the efficiency in your warehouse, and we have expounded that in this article.
Die Handling Carts
A die handling cart is a wheeled, motor-propelled ‘vehicle’ that is used in a warehouse to transport heavy goods.
It is uneconomical to have your employees carry the products with their hands as it leads to time wastage, accidents, and reduced profits over time.
The decks of the die handling cart are fitted with rollers and stoppers that, in addition to facilitating easy loading and offloading of the goods, they also prevent goods from rolling over especially if they are packaged in cylindrical containers.
Wheels are important parts of the die handling cart because they reduce the amount of resistance to movement. These resistances are very common when the die handler is dragged along the floor without wheels.
Pallet Carts
A pallet cart is a hauling equipment used to horizontally move goods along the floor in warehouses and other storage facilities using pallet platforms. The pallet cart is fitted with a manual hydraulic jack below the handle in order to lift the forks once they are properly positioned under the pallet decks.
Pallet shelving and racking systems are specially designed to hold goods stored in boxes and crates. Therefore, the forks of the pallet cart slide under the pallet deck and lift it together with the goods.
Rolling the goods with pallet carts increases worker’s efficiency by halving the working time and effort, which in turn doubles their productivity.
Vertical Reciprocating Conveyors
Vertical reciprocating conveyors are very effective when handling very heavy goods and equipment between the factory floors.
The conveyors use hydraulics to carry the goods to the designated floor level, either upwards or downwards. Therefore, the vertical reciprocating conveyor is efficient in a production facility that has multiple interdependent production levels.
Pallet Trucks
Pallet trucks and pallet carts are almost similar in a sense that they both facilitate movement of goods mounted on pallet decks.
However, a pallet truck can facilitate movement of goods both vertically and horizontally, while the cart can only move goods horizontally. Pallet trucks are highly used at shipping docks, where goods in the shipping containers are packed in pallets.
A pallet truck is powered by an engine, which gives it the ability to lift heavier goods than the manual human-powered pallet cart. Therefore, a warehouse that employs the use of pallet trucks increases efficiency by reducing the loading and offloading time, as well as hassle of retrieving pallets stored on high-rise shelves.
Service Carts and Shelf Trucks
You have probably come across different service carts at some point. A service cart is the one equipment with the most diverse applications, ranging from the hospitality industry to the medical industry.
A service cart is unique because it is designed to be a shelf on wheels. The multiple decks and sets of wheels make service carts offer some of the best mobile storage solutions.
If you have a distribution warehouse, it is highly advisable to invest in an automated shelf truck that just picks and sorts multiple orders by itself.
Tool Carts
A tool cart is designed with partitions (small boxes) and wheels, which allow you to store and carry your tools simultaneously.
Conclusion
There are varieties of material handling equipment available in the market today. The kind of equipment you will turn to in order to solve your warehouse inefficiencies will largely depend on your internal specific needs, as well as the budget at your disposal.
