Forklifts have long been an imperative piece of industrial machinery. Forklifts can easily carry heavy loads and make transportation simple. They are one of the best ways for companies to transport heavy materials with agility and efficiency.
So, what are some of the ways in which businesses truly benefit from having a fleet of high-quality, fully capable forklifts at their disposal?
Regardless of whether you need to fork lifts hire in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or you have a fleet of forklifts, here are some of the ways in which forklifts are used to perfection in different industries.
1. Indoor material movement
Forklifts are most commonly used for indoor areas, like attached & detached warehouses, for loading and unloading trucks, stacking, picking, transporting as well as at the distribution centre.
Forklifts have long been the machinery of choice for maneuvering heavy materials around a workplace. Whilst other equipment can be highly efficient for certain applications (i.e. waves for putting materials on higher shelves), the forklift is the best option for transporting materials across a workspace due to its agility and efficiency.
Forklifts are generally used to pull or lift pallets, but equipment, drums, crates, and stacked or large single boxes can also be moved via forklift. Forklift designs often vary for handling different workplace scenarios and obstacles, including small aisle, side-lifting, and high shelves/areas.
2. Moving materials outdoors
Whilst you might usually think of forklifts for indoor use, they can also be just as effective outside, in areas such as home, garden, hardware, and lumber stores. You can also typically find them at construction sites.
In fact, forklifts are designed for moving heavy construction materials, including recycling bins, dumpsters, and portaloos. With the use of a hopper or portable container attachment, they have the ability to transport and dump materials into large containers like ditches or dumpsters. Forklifts can also be found at docks, junkyards, and other outdoor sites.
3. Training equipment
Naturally, forklifts are used to train new forklift operators. You can’t commence operating a forklift without proper training and certification, so forklift drivers in Australia have to learn how to operate these machines before they can do so in the workplace.
After the employee has completed their required training hours and received their forklift license they can then go on to use the forklift in their workplace.
4. Transporting people
Whilst safety is vital for lifting people indoors and outdoors and employees must follow Australian guidelines to provide a safe work platform, people can be transported via the use of a forklift.
To do this, forklifts must be fitted with the right safety features, including attachments like platforms and safety cages. People can use forklifts to pick or stack materials, perform maintenance or inventory duties, trim trees that are too tall to be reached from the ground, and also clean hard-to-reach areas.
5. Other uses
Forklifts can even have a broom attachment, which allows dry or wet sweep warehouse floors, dock floors, timber yard floors, and more. You can also fit a dust mopping attachment to a forklift so that you can clean large areas with more ease than doing it manually.
They are incredibly versatile pieces of machinery
As you can see, forklifts are a vital component of the Australian industry. Whether they are being used for indoor applications, outdoor applications, to provide a safe work platform, or to even clean a workspace, forklifts are ubiquitous to Australian industrial workplaces.
