Electric pallet trucks – Ease of warehousing and manufacturing

Pallet trucks or Jacks as they are commonly known, are among the most resourceful and versatile workhorses for any warehouse, manufacturing plants and material handling purposes. They come in a variety of options pertaining to individual needs and capabilities. For low-duty lifting, the most commonly found are the Manual Pallet trucks which function similar to a handcart, albeit, with features such as a hydraulic operated lever to lift, lower and steer the jack, allowing easy maneuverability. Plus, it has strong wheels to sustain rough terrains and uneven surfaces on which they are generally rolled. Among low to medium duty warehousing applications, the most popular pallet trucks, hands down, are the electric ones. Also known as, Battery operated pallet truck, Pallet jacks, Power jacks or simple walkies, these trucks feature power drive and power lift, which increases the overall control and reduces the amount of effort an operator needs while hauling. Some electric pallet trucks come with a platform to stand on and some even have compartments. Read on to know if Battery operated pallet trucks(BOPT) is what you are looking for.

Types of Electric Pallet trucks

With modern attributes to simplify and optimize your day to day warehouse activities, electric pallets come equipped with features such as a power steering and automatic brakes, providing added safety. While Manual pallets are good for short horizontal transportation, electric ones provide that, plus ease of movement even in larger spaces. The electric pallets generally come with two variants elaborated below.

1. Pedestrian: Sometimes referred to as a walkie, it is a very useful pallet truck, which comes with a load-bearing capacity of around 1500kg. It is an ideal solution for light-duty applications. Compared to the hand pallet, it significantly eliminates the physical effort and improves working efficiency, consequently, helping you reduce working cost. Its traction and lift motor minimize the physical effort and stress to its users. It also comes with a joystick that controls traction and lifts with automatic braking on releasing traction or reversing direction
2. Platform: For longer distances exceeding 30 meters in a single trip, it is best to consider a stand-on powered pallet jack where the operator can actually board the truck and ride along the pallet. These units are typically higher in capacity than the pedestrian variant and are hence ideal for heavy duty long distance materials handling. These employ a variety of different safety capabilities than standard pedestrian pallets to improve usage across more applications.

Maintenance of your BOPT

Since electric pallets are powered by Batteries, they require periodic charging. Regular checks of your floor space are advised for equipment maintenance as any severe bumps experienced from moving along uneven surfaces may damage the pivots. Moisture and dust proof AC motors require no maintenance as such, but it goes a long way in elongating the life of your pallets

Which BOPT is suitable for your warehousing and manufacturing needs?

Depending on the intensity of your work, it’s up to you to gauge your options and decide whatever suits you best. You can find detailed descriptions of various available options on Linde MHE for comparing yourself! (Material handling equipment & Warehouse Equipment).

How Electric Pallets fare against the manual ones

• Environmentally friendly and safe choice.
• Boost productivity with speedy operations.
• Consists of various compartments to carry quick workplace essentials such as a pen, a book or maybe a cup of coffee.
• Safer to operate with electric controlled speed limiting, emergency stop, braking and electric hydraulic lift pumps which eliminate operator strain.
• Improves workplace safety.
• No special license is required to operate the electric truck.
• Easy to maintain and recharge between uses.
• Ergonomic design makes it way better than the manual pallets
• Makes work fun by minimizing physical stress and strain.

If you won’t find pallet trucks worth your investment, then always calculate the costing of your company in the long run considering the downtime, the productivity, as well as the health and safety of your operators. It is best to invest now so that you may harvest well in the future.