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just the truck itself that affects operators’ confidence, he
adds. Effective training and retraining play a big role as well.
According to Narrow Aisle Inc.’s Dickey, when it comes
to stability, turret and swing-reach trucks have a disadvantage: Neither their masts nor their carriages tilt to help
compensate for the irregularities commonly found in warehouse floors and to limit the amount of sway in the mast
at higher lift heights. As a result, they require perfectly flat,
level floors. Because the front end of an articulating VNA
forklift pivots, the load remains stable even on rough floors,
he says. For his company’s Flexi model, tilting masts are
used up to around 400 to 420 inches; above that height,
fixing the mast vertically and using a tilting carriage instead
allows for higher capacity and better stability, he says.
Another productivity factor to keep in mind is energy
capacity. It takes about four times more energy to lift a load
to today’s extraordinary heights than it would to lift the
same load a short distance with a conventional electric rider
that has a limited reach, according to Comfort. Designing
exceptional energy efficiency into high-lift trucks, she says,
is one way to avoid having to change the battery prematurely. Yet another approach, says Toyota’s Jimenez, is to use
equipment with bigger battery compartments that accommodate larger batteries—“It’s like having a bigger fuel tank
in your car,” he says. He also recommends considering
alternative power sources, such as lithium-ion batteries and
hydrogen fuel-cell batteries.
FACILITY DESIGN
Getting more productivity from high-lift trucks isn’t just a
matter of how you operate the equipment itself. Warehouse
design comes into play as well. To maximize productivity,
Jungheinrich’s Ardito suggests looking at a warehouse or
DC as an integrated material handling solution, where the
various components work together and affect each other.
For example, racking and lift trucks are both components
of that integrated solution, so it’s critical for the trucks to
have the most effective interface with the racks, he says.
Precision is key. “We could be working with a client on
a 500,000-square-foot facility to implement an effective
lift truck solution, yet it often comes down to a matter
of inches, especially with a VNA system involving order
pickers and/or turrets,” he observes. “Inches do matter for
maintaining the integrity and safe use of the system, and for
maximizing productivity and minimizing opportunities for
unsafe practices.”
Comfort agrees, citing the example of a lift truck provid-
er’s making sure that a rack provider “buries” the columns
so they don’t jut into a VNA truck’s path. Other concerns
include the heights of doorways, mezzanines, and pick
modules as well as obstructions like sprinkler fixtures and
pallet overhang (which could damage wires on a VNA
truck’s mast). It’s also important to keep in mind that the
actual height of the work area will include the height of
whatever product is stored on the top tier of racks.
Failing to take these factors into account can be costly. UniCarriers’ Kordes once encountered a facility that
ordered new lift trucks without considering the height of
the outriggers, only to find that they prevented the trucks
from fitting into some of the racks. (Outriggers, also known
as baselegs, are structural components that extend in front
of either side of the mast to improve stability.) Outriggers
should also be considered in tandem with aisle width, he
says. “As lift trucks go higher, outriggers can go wider, and
this can lead to ‘aisle contention,’ where two trucks can’t
pass in the same aisle,” he explains.
Every operation’s situation is different and should be
judged individually, our sources agree. But there are some
basic principles that can help to maximize the productivity of high-lift trucks of all types. First and foremost is to
maintain a relentless focus on safety, including visibility,
stability, and operator training. Another is to avoid treating
forklifts as an afterthought. “People think that getting the
building going and then inviting the lift truck dealer in is
OK,” says Comfort. “You really want them to go in earlier, before you lay out the racking and aisles, to determine
what will work best.” And be realistic: Extra time may be
required for performing many tasks—a consideration that
should be taken into account when measuring driver productivity and calculating throughput requirements.
