Running a warehouse isn’t easy; it’s a busy workplace, and if you don’t pay enough attention or don’t have the essential equipment for successful operation, things can instantly go wrong.
Due to a great deal of physical work required, such as lifting, pushing, pulling and transporting, it’s needless to say accidents can happen. Most of the injuries that do happen in a warehouse related to this kind of physical work usually have to do with the back.
Regardless whether it’s a serious injury or just a sprain, high chances are it would result in sick leaves or even compensation claims, so unless you intend to put workers’ health as well as your profits at risk, it’s advisable to invest in adequate material handling equipment, like the light and heavy load trolley designed for the most demanding uses.
Trolleys are as reliable as can be when it comes to turning the warehouse into a safe workplace and the fact they’ve beaten the test of time, existing for centuries way before warehouses did, is proof enough you need them for your business.
Sure, nowadays you can rely on technology to do the job, as in the example of automated material handling systems with self-driving vehicles, devices and tools designed to do the storage and retrieval in an automated way, however they can be costly both initially and in the long run when you consider their operational costs, as opposed to the affordable and versatile trolleys.
Trolleys make an essential part of a functional warehouse, no matter whether it’s small or big, and even in the case when you’ve already automated the work environment. This is because they are created to be sturdy and durable thanks to carefully selected materials such as aluminum and steel platforms and components and polyurethane wheels.
Furthermore, they have a lightweight design, including the heavy load trolley created specifically for heavy duty, which makes them easy to maneuver through the aisles.
Decisive Aspects for Choosing Trolleys
Since the variety of trolleys is wide, there are certain aspects you’d have to think of to be certain you’ve made the right choice. First things first, consider the type of loads, their size, whether they’re small or bulk items, as well as their weight to be able to decide on the trolley capacity.
Other than paying attention to the quality based on the materials the trolley is made of, it’s advisable to purchase accordingly with the warehouse environment itself, your specific needs, not leaving aisle and door width out of the equation.
The design of the trolleys is another decisive factor, particularly the handy features as in the example of the flexible, collapsible style and the chance to enhance the design to suit your requirements by adding accessories. This is important both from the point of view of material handling equipment storage, and the future warehouse needs in case of business growth.
Since they aren’t automated, and there’s a worker operating them, you have to think from the aspect of the worker too; are they ergonomic enough, suitable for adapting to the personnel needs? For instance, adjustability as in the example of adjustable handles is a highly welcome feature.
Different Types of Trolleys
If you want to choose well, you have to know the trolleys, simple as that. Distinguishing between light and heavy load trolley is just a basic way, the other is knowing the types of trolleys that are light and heavy load created.
The simplest and most widespread of trolleys is the hand trolley, with one of its most wanted features being the foldability. It’s mostly suitable for light loads as much as 250kgs, and short distance transports. Requiring something for bigger capacities, up to 500kgs, you should choose the platform trolley, more so if needing to ease personnel’s exertion levels.
The more complex variant, and therefore safer, to this type is the caged trolley. Based on the goods you require to transport, you can choose from caged trolleys with rails or shelving. When needing more shelving, then you can count on the help of shelf trolleys, designed for the transport of multiple boxed items.
For greater mobility no matter the season or terrain, be it indoors or outdoors, as well as your heavy load trolley requirements, transporting up to 900kgs or more, opt for the wagon type.
Benefits of Trolleys
Now you know how to choose them by important aspects and their types, but do you know what your warehouse can benefit from the use of trolleys? Apart from taking the heavy loads instead of workers and saving them from injuries and manual handling efforts, they help with the overall efficiency too.
When a worker transports goods fast, there’s a considerable increase in productivity and the quality of work, which respectively means more profits. As mentioned, they are cost-efficient, especially if they’re not electric or powered by batteries in which case they’re also eco-friendly.
They make a valuable and long-lasting investment that also happens to be low maintenance, a reason more to choose them. A functional warehouse is one where storing and transporting of goods goes smoothly, so make sure you invest in the adequate trolleys.