Types of MHEs - Part 1

In this entry, we will talk about the types of MHEs.

There are many different types of material handling equipments that are used in the warehouse or distribution centre.

*Pallet Jacks*

1) Pallet jacks are normally used for the moving of loads around the warehouse.Pallet jacks protect your back from strains and injuries by moving heavy and awkward loads and objects that would be unsafe to lift manually.

Front wheels are mounted inside the end of the forks and extend to the floor as the pallet is only lifted enough to clear the floor for subsequent travel. Although pallet jacks are normally used in warehouse, there are still some restrictions like reversible pallets cannot be used, double-faced nonreversible pallets cannot have deckboards where the front wheels extend to the floor, and enables only two-way entry into a four-way notched-stringer pallet because the forks cannot be inserted into the notches.

There are 2 types of pallet jacks, the Manual Pallet Jacks and the Powered Pallet Jacks. The manual pallet jacks are usually seen in the warehouse.



Links for better understanding.

* http://www.materialflow.com/Pallet_Jacks.htm
* http://www.castersofoklahoma.com/liftsandstackers.asp


Electric pallet jacks make the moving of loads around the workplace efficiently.




Links for better understanding:

* http://pallettruck.com/pc/home/electricpallettrucks.html
* http://www.scif.com/safety/safetymeeting/Article.asp?ArticleID=363

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*Fork-lifts*

Another type of material handling equipment that is usually seen in the warehouse is the Fork Lift. Fork lifts are essential for a variety of business, especially when there's a need for heavy lifting of loads/goods.

For example, in a warehouse where they need fork lifts to move heavy loads/pallets around from the container to the staging area or from the staging area to the container.

There are many kinds of fork lifts, examples such as:

* Electric Rider Counterbalanced Truck

* Stand Up Rider - Narrow Aisle

* Stand Up Reach Rider- Narrow Aisle

* Stand Up Rider- Order Picker

* Sit Down Rider

* Motorized Hand Pallet Jack

*Reach Forklift

For more detailed informations about these equipements:

* http://www.rentrain.com/content/1/59/284




Weight of vehicle (and operator) behind the front wheels of truck counterbalances weight of the load (and weight of vehicle beyond front wheels); front wheels act as fulcrum or pivot point.
Rated capacity reduced for load centers greater than 24 in. and lift heights greater than 13 ft.
Workhorses of material handling because of their flexibility: indoor/outdoor operation over a variety of different surfaces; variety of load capacities available; and variety of attachments available—fork attachments can replace the forks (e.g., carton clamps) or enhance the capabilities of the forks (eg, blades for slipsheets).

Links for better understanding.

* http://www.forkliftsguide.com/

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*Narrow Aisle Reach Truck*

Other than pallet jacks and the fork lift, there is also another type of equipment that are not usually seen in the warehouse which is the narrow aisle reach truck. The aisle distance for this type of equipment is shorter than the aisle distance for the normal equipment. This could help the warehouse to save some space.



8-10 ft. minimum aisle width requirement
Load rests on the outrigger arms during transport, but a pantograph (scissors) mechanism is used for reaching, thereby eliminating the need to straddle the load during stacking
Reaching capability enables the use of shorter outrigger arms (arms > 1/2 load depth) as compared to NA straddle truck (arms = load depth)
Counterbalance of the truck used to support the load when it extends beyond the outrigger arms
Although the NA reach truck requires slightly wider aisles than a NA straddle truck since its outrigger arms do not enter a rack during storage, it does not require arm clearance between loads (arm clearance is still required when the truck must enter a storage lane when block stacking or drive-in or -through racks are used)
Extended reaching mechanisms are available to enable double-deep storage


*VNA*



The above equipment is also called the Very Narrow Aisle (VNA) truck or the Operator-Up Turret Truck. This type of truck can fit into the aisle with only 2.1m in width as the fork is at the side compared to the forklift which is at the front. For the VNA, the operator will be lifted together with the load and this will allow precise stacking and picking.

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For more information about MHEs, be sure to be back for more!!!!!!! Feel free to ask any question and give us your precious comments. Thanks!!!