The forklift is what makes industry hum. These incredibly useful machines are used for everything from handling pallets to moving stacks of materials of all descriptions. Forklift accessories just extend their usefulness even further, making what is already arguably the most indispensable piece of equipment in any industrial setting even more indispensable.
One of the main jobs a forklift does in the warehouse is move pallets onto and off of pallets. While that may be the job it does 75% of the time, thanks to clever forklift accessories, it performs many other jobs as well. With the right add-ons, the forklift can help with innumerable other jobs.
By the end of the day in a busy warehouse, a lot of rubbish accumulates. Paper, plastic, cardboard and other materials are removed from boxes and discarded. Dirt accumulates on the floor. When the forklift has finished its shift at moving pallets, a broom attachment can be quickly attached to its forks and sweep all the rubbish from the floor into one location.
While in a warehouse setting, the forklift may be needed primarily for moving pallets, in manufacturing, it needs to be far more versatile. A pallet of wood veneer plywood or MDF may arrive at a kitchen factory, for instance. While the forklift can move the pallet safely, when the individual pieces of veneer are needed, the steel forks may damage the veneer.
Among the many forklift accessories that are designed to be slid onto the forks are poly protective coverings. Using these will ensure that the forklift operator can move heavy yet malleable wood veneer sheets without damaging them.
Kitchen manufacturers make a mess. Sawdust stacks up in sawdust collectors and something has to be done with the bags of sawdust. Offcuts of particleboard stack up in the course of the day. There are two ways to handle this necessary accumulation of waste – the hard way and the easy way. The hard way is for the staff to take it all out to the waste bins one bag and one stack of offcuts at a time. The easy way is to attach a self dumping hopper to the forklift and move it all at once.
Another, low profile hopper kept tucked out of the way, can be used when a delivery of small parts arrived. Hinges, handles, screws, drawer hardware and other things come packed in small boxes. They either have to be moved individually or, if one of your forklift accessories is a small hopper, they can all be packed into the hopper and carried to a convenient location for sorting.
These few examples barely scratch the surface of the many uses of forklift accessories. The point is to show how these inexpensive devices can greatly increase productivity in the workplace.
