handling; and how many of each type of item is handled per
shift. You’ll also need basic vehicle data like actual run
times, usage in hours, maintenance records, and energy
consumption (battery amps or volume of gas), says Keith
Allmandinger, senior marketing manager at Komatsu
Forklift U.S.A.
Next, document the warehouse environment, says Bill
Pfleger, president of Yale Distribution, a subsidiary of
NACCO Materials Handling Group. Floor conditions,
inclines or ramps, doorways, temperature, moisture, and
so forth all affect the lift choice, he notes. He also advises
conducting a power study to determine whether internal
combustion or electric power is most suitable for the
environment.
Assess the density and type of storage—rack type, configuration, and height; the type and velocity of products
stored in those racks; and aisle widths, intersections, travel
paths, and other features that affect vehicle travel. Then
comes product velocity, or throughput: how many units
must be moved per hour or shift.
Track exactly what your lift trucks do, and where and how
they do it. “Think in terms of the product lifecycle and
movement for a particular customer,” recommends Greg
Mason, warehouse product consultant, Mitsubishi
Caterpillar Forklift America Inc. (MCFA). That might
include how and where a particular product will be
received, put away, and then picked and shipped, he says.
As for where to find all this diverse data, managers can
tap a variety of sources. A warehouse management system
(WMS) can provide insight into throughput, including pal-
lets per hour and the velocity of individual stock-keeping
units (SKUs). Hour meters can determine how much trav-
eling and lifting trucks are doing, data loggers attached to
batteries can measure energy usage, and fleet management
software can generate detailed performance reports for
individual vehicles and operators as well as for different
classes of trucks.
Made for each other
Usually lift truck buyers are evaluating equipment for an
existing warehouse or DC. But what about when they’re
spec’ing for a facility that hasn’t been built yet? That can
be a golden opportunity to ensure that the facility and
the trucks are truly made for each other, says Kenro
Okamoto, a product support specialist at Toyota
Material Handling, U.S.A., Inc.
You might think warehouse layout designers would
always consider equipment capabilities and limitations
in their plans, but that’s not the case, Okamoto says. For
example, many companies try to squeeze as much racking with as much height as possible into a new building,
yet that may make it impossible for forklift operators to
efficiently handle the volume and type of products
required, he says.
“I’ve seen warehouse designs that did not allow for
safe maneuvering,” Okamoto recounts. “You need
enough space between aisles that trucks can turn in
either direction, and you have to consider that operators
will need to back up, move forward, pick up or put away
product, and even make reverse turns in certain areas.”
For that reason, the layout designer may have to reduce
the number of aisles.
