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If you are looking to improve the productivity of your workforce, or simply want to assist your employees with machinery that will help reduce their workload, you may be considering buying a forklift or crane forks. However, which one would benefit you the most?

Benefits of a forklift:

If your facility has enough open floor space, forklifts would be a perfect solution for your moving requirements. These are often used to move goods quickly in a widespread building or from one bay to another or a loading dock. There are also forklifts available which are designed for particular jobs.

The forklifts are small but compact machines, designed to fit in tight and narrow areas. Also, they’re highly manoeuvrable and capable of lifting different loads. The simplest thing is that you can choose a forklift with the correct configuration and capacity depending on your needs. Forlifts, however, do require training, as safety in the workplace is essential.

Benefits of crane forks:

Crane forks are suspended and can lift a load that a forklift can not get access to. Fork cranes are useful in large construction sites as they help with the movement of pallets to the correct place. Safety nets are highly recommended when using crane forks to help reduce the risk of any injury within the construction site. 

The use of any type of equipment is a workplace comes with its own risks, and it is important for the site manager to do the correct risk assessment of the site before any machinery is used. All workers must be made aware of the site risks, and appropriate measures must be in place to provide optimum safety and reduce risk. 

Machinery must only be used by trained members of the team and correct use of signs, uniform, and other saftey measures must be in place before any work can begin. 

Should you hire or buy machinery? 

Consider the cost of buying a forklift or crane forks compared to hiring them. If hiring, work out the timeframe, you require the equipment and possible delays that could occur. If you are considering buying your own machinery for the job, then research the safety tests the equipment must have before it can be used. 

When you consider your team’s safety, the simplest place to start out is by ensuring relevant workers are properly trained and authorised before stepping onto the worksite. 

As the general contractor, you ought to create a safety plan in conjunction with subcontractors that contains an inventory of hazards and concerns. It covers all phases of safety on a construction site, including crane operation, and it should include requirements or concerns from the owner or the design team. These risks should be assessed during the drafting of the contract documents, and it is vital for them to be available for review before people arrive on the worksite. 

Additionally, check that the lift director, lift operator, crane hands, and qualified riggers are available before project commencement to discuss crane location, lifting zones, crane radius, and communications.

Watching someone control a forklift is a pretty interesting sight and it can actually be rather therapeutic, however, what you don’t know is that driving a forklift is not as easy as it might seem, and here’s why:

They are heavy

With an estimated weight of up to 10,000 pounds, a forklift needs a lot of attention to detail to control. By that it means that though they move at a relatively slow pace when compared to ordinary vehicles, but they also cannot stop instantly.

The steering is confusing

If you are used to automatic cars, then you are going need a lot of time to get used to the forklift’s manual feature. However, this should not be a cause of worry as you will get used to it with time, but it’s like riding a new car for the first time, the only difference is that the car’s gear box is all over the place and nothing like you expected.

You need top-notch judgmental skills

Since you are bound to lift all kinds of heavy loads, it would help if you get to know exactly what you are lifting. Know when the pallet is heavy, light, unstable and extremely heavy. This way, you will be able to exert the right amount of pressure needed for picking. You also need to understand how to handle each load, for example, learning about the many different types of forklift extensions and attachments and how they work. These can make a forklift you’ve been used to for years feel completely different, so it’s not just a case of getting used to the vehicle itself and the controls, but also the attachments and extensions, as they really do take time to master.

Requires high level of concentration

When it comes to driving a forklift, you need to focus on whatever you are doing. As much as keeping yourself informed of what is happening around is vital, it is a bit difficult, You have to be good at multi-tasking since the slightest mistake can turn hazardous in a matter of seconds, so you also need to be very aware of the other workers around you, always watching out them for them should they make a silly mistake and come too close to a danger zone.

Patience is key

Learning how to operate a forklift efficiently requires a lot of patience coupled with determination. It is not a quick-learn type of vehicle, so if you are looking for something simple on the move, then it is definitely not for you. However, the good thing is that once you start moving, there is no turning back. You discover valuable tricks to last you a lifetime. All you need is to have a little confidence in yourself.

We wanted to let forklift drivers know that we understand how difficult their job can be, and managing this type of vehicle couples with the pressure of working quickly is not an easy job by any means, so we take our hat off to all forklift drivers!

Forklift trucks have been developed to make life easier for workers in warehouses and other industrial environments by handling materials, goods and containers.

The first electric-powered forklift truck was produced in 1923, while the gasoline-powered ones came into production a decade later. In the 1950s the modern forklifts were introduced that used hydraulics for power take-off and material handling. The engine is not directly attached to the wheels, but rather drive a hydraulic pump to provide pressure for moving materials. Ford lift trucks have been constantly improved over years of development resulting in several models being available from a series of leading manufacturers such as Ford, Nissan or Mitsubishi, however, there are many specialist brands too such as Hoist, Caterpillar, Hyster-Yale, Crown, Clark, Flexi and Pettibone.

Faster and safer lifting in industrial sectors

With forklift trucks being so fast, providing improved safety measures for the worker is easy too. Conventional forklifts are inherently dangerous to employees who work around them because they lack many of the safety components that forklifts have today. The engine powered forklifts were also extremely loud with vibrations powering through civilised noise dampening things such as buildings or enclosures. Electric forklift trucks do not have any cylinders or pistons allowing no vibration which reduces arm fatigue and can ultimately allow an operator to work longer without getting tired and more efficiently. There are many different types of forklift trucks available depending on where you wish to use your truck and what you need it to lift whether it be steel, palletised cargo or engines. It’s also important to keep in mind you need the right forklift truck extensions for the job!

Forklift Truck Extensions

There are so many different types of forklift truck extensions, they include fork height options to allow you to transfer palletised cargo from the fork height of your forklift truck to the fork height of the pallet trolley. Fork widths are also available for forklift trucks which are used for transferring heavier materials such as concrete or steel into position. The last forklift truck extension is a site-specific option that allows an operator to drive onto uneven terrain with their forklifts ability to climb! There are many more forklift truck extensions available dependent on the type of work you need them for

Forklift accessories can help you maximise ROI!

If you are considering purchasing forklift attachments or accessories then it’s important that you do your research. Some forklift upgrades may seem like a sensible idea but when you consider the type of work that is done within each industry, this can help you to establish which racks and pallet cages need to be used. For example in light industrial warehousing, there may be no need for side shift ramps due to floor level access throughout, however, in food manufacturing where there are multiple levels at any one time (which require continuous staff shuttling), side shift ramps make sense. If you want advice on what rack accessories might be suitable, get in touch with us today as we can always cover this in a future blog!

But going back to the original question. Forklift trucks dramatically changed industrial processes for the better, helping small and large businesses work smarter, not harder.

With land at a premium in city centres, warehouses have to be designed for maximum efficiency. Forklifts are the key to making that happen. They’re also well-suited to many tasks inside the warehouse because they can manoeuvre around tight spaces and deliver material to its destination quickly, without damaging it or having someone carry it on their back. Forklift trucks are so important in the workplace today that if you run one, you might need to qualify for forklift certification training, a crucial step for maximising safety in your workplace.

A slice of history

The first known patent for a powered industrial truck was filed in 1859 by New Yorker Henry W Howe. His hand-propelled platform truck divided the drive power between two endless chains on either side of the vehicle, passing around sheaves that were attached to each chain. It was a simple yet effective solution but it would be more than 100 years until they became truly safe and practical work vehicles. A British inventor called Herbert Haddock had patented a somewhat similar machine back in 1910, but his version only moved when someone stood on the moving part at one end! The first electric-powered industrial trucks didn’t appear until 1924. They were used mainly in coal mines where fumes from diesel engines couldn’t be tolerated.

There are many types of equipment used to carry heavy machinery within a factory. For instance, if you want to load a plant on to a tract, which lifting equipment would you prefer?

Well, lifting equipment should provide higher strength and power without compromising on safety, cost, and reliability.

To ensure you have the best lifting tools in your factory, do your research and select an equipment that will offer the best strength depending on the machinery you want to transport. Below are some of the top-rated heavy machinery lift tools.

Crane
The loading equipment uses simple mechanical techniques to move heavy loads. Most cranes have wires, chains, and sheaves to lift loads. And are commonly found in huge manufacturing companies to load and offload machinery. Some of the factories that use cranes include construction companies and freight manufacturing factories.

The many varieties of cranes in the market have been manufactured depending on the level of power and height needed to move a load. Some of them include overhead crane, tower crane, loader crane, truck mounted crane among others. So if you are looking forward to purchasing a loading machine then consider cranes.

Forklift
The lifting machine is meant explicitly for transporting goods or loads over a short distance. Forklifts come in different variations and capacity. Most forklift trucks can carry machinery weighing 10 to 50 tons. Moreover, modern forklifts can lift height loads. Most forklifts operate using either propane, gasoline or diesel. Moreover, you can increase the functionality of your lifting machine with the different available attachments. Forklifts can help you transport machinery and material efficiently within a factory.

Telehandler
They resemble cranes and are used to lift loads over several heights. Telehandlers design provides stability and visibility needed to lift heavy machines. Besides, it’s a multipurpose tool with different attachments. For example, lift tables, forks, and buckets.

Many construction industries and factories use telehandlers move machinery from one place to another. Moreover, its pallet forks can reach unreachable areas in your factory. Some variety of telehandlers include, the heavy lift, rotational and fix boom telehandlers.

Load Moving Skates

Load moving skates are also very popular, especially for those heavy items that need to be moved from one area of a workshop to another. They comprise of a steerable front section and a pair of adjustable rear trolleys.

Pulley
Have you ever used a pulley system in your life? It’s the most common system used in many factories. They are used to lift and hoist materials and load over heights. For example, in building and construction factory.

To lift heavy loads use portable floor crane pulley system or lifting magnets. Pulleys are much cheaper, and you can easily use it in your factory to lift heavy machines.

Bottom line
The above tools are some of the top rated equipment you can use for daily handling of machinery. They are simple, efficient and reliable. You can buy one for your factory but many companies use the above equipment’s, and you can always hire them to transport heavy machinery.