Warehouse design – important considerations for forklifts

With the ever-escalating cost of land and building it has become essential to utilise as much height as possible to maximise the cubic capacity of the warehouse. For material handling equipment this becomes a vital consideration.


Eugene Steenhuisen, national warehousing product manager, Toyota Forklift South Africa

Warehouse height is normally determined by the handling equipment that will service the racking. With the advent of 12,5 metre lift reach trucks an additional metre can now be accessed over the previous standard lift of 11,5 metres while still retaining flexibility. It is prudent to build high enough to utilise the maximum height offered by the handling equipment. Buildings can be extended at a later stage but can’t be made taller.

However, with these higher warehouses come some resultant good design considerations.

Emphasis on the handling equipment: The warehouse should be designed around the handling equipment rather than starting with a racking layout and then seeking equipment to fit the design. Handling equipment requires specific working aisles sized according to loads being handled and the heights being utilised. The racking, in turn, needs to conform to these parameters. Failure to consider this could lead to aisles that are too tight with resultant damage to product and racking, as well as reduced performance with more resources required to do the work. However, if there is a need for picking at lower levels and/or high throughput, rather design wider aisles that will allow for both equipment and people to pass each other safely and quickly.

Height and safety: High-lift heights make it difficult for reach truck drivers to see clearly what they are doing, which can slow down operations and create safety concerns. Driver aids are therefore an important consideration.
Options available include:

  • Height pre-selectors: This is an electronic device reading the lift height of the forks and stops at a selected height. The heights are preset by the lift truck supplier according to the racking configuration.
     
  • Fork cameras: This consists of a camera mounted on  the heel of the forks and a colour LCD monitor allows the operator to see the proximity of the fork tips to the fork pockets of the pallet.

Tilting cabs: The cab of the truck tilts back when the forks are raised allowing the driver to see the forks in relation to the pallets he is handling. This also reduces neck strain and improves productivity.
These options can be used individually or in combination with each other to achieve maximum safety and productivity.

The warehouse floor: It is extremely important that the warehouse floor is as flat and level as possible and features the minimum amount floor joints. Floor joints should be epoxy grouted to provide a smooth transition between panels.

A poor floor can lead to the reduced performance of high-lift reach trucks. It can also result in increased maintenance due to the dynamic sway induced to the trucks, and from jolts from bad floor joints on components and electronics.

Management systems: Real-time fleet management systems offer improved safety, better driver and productivity control, collision detection and reporting, driver licensing control and maintenance scheduling.

Batteries and chargers: Purchase enough batteries to reduce the risk of over discharging batteries and reducing cell life. Unavailability of batteries will impact productivity. Fit batteries with water filling systems, which will reduce maintenance and improve lifespan. High frequency (HF) chargers use less energy than conventional taper phase chargers and do not heat the batteries as much, which again extends cell life. Use modern battery exchange equipment when there is a need for multiple batteries.