The top three challenges faced by materials handling equipment operations, are rising costs, the ongoing labour shortage, and maintaining safety standards. Beyond that, each operation also has its own unique set of challenges to face, from day to day. No two businesses are the same, and neither are their forklift requirements. That’s why Yale lift truck designs prioritise customers’ needs and challenges. In this blog, discover more about our customer-driven design.
Scalable lift trucks to meet operation-specific needs
To be able to meet the requirements of each individual operation, Yale offers scalable lift trucks and lift truck options. There are various reasons you might need to consider a customised forklift.
Food or beverage operations may require lift trucks to operate in very high or low temperatures. Warehouse and 3PL businesses may need compact lift trucks to operate in tight spaces. Whilst lift trucks in busy intralogistics operations may need to operate alongside pedestrians and multiple other trucks, as well as working in indoor or outdoor environments – or a mix of both. Whatever your unique set of challenges, custom options enable you scale your forklift truck design to suit you, your operation, and your operators. With numerous options and add-ons, available from Yale, you have the opportunity to scale up or scale down your materials handling equipment according to your operation’s specific needs and your ideal price point.
For example, the Yale Series N counterbalance truck is scalable to support the specific needs of your operation. It can be built to complement your warehouse equipment, supporting productivity throughout your operation. Dependable high performance, exceptional ergonomics and low total cost of ownership (TCO) come as standard. But you might choose to scale up with a high specification cabin, or operator assistance solutions.
Another example of customer-driven design is the Yale UXL series of forklift trucks. These offer further versatility and are able to operate in diverse industries. The compact design and easy handling of the lithium-ion powered UXL series promote efficient navigation in narrow aisles while tackling the day-to-day challenges inherent in manufacturing, logistics, retail, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical operations. Responsive performance, lift capacity up to 3.5 tonnes, and a reach of up to 6m, all support the UXL in performing a wide range of material handling tasks to meet specific operational demands.
Lift truck features to heighten awareness and safety
Some options enable you to scale your fleet in ways that may help heighten awareness and safety. For example, the Yale MRO16-20 outdoor reach truck, and other Yale trucks, can be customised with Yale operator assistance systems (OAS), such as Pedestrian Awareness Lights or the Side Red Line system. These may help alert others to the presence or proximity of the reach truck. OAS include a variety of features like lights, audible alarms, pedestrian awareness systems and options to enforce driver best practices, designed to help operators, pedestrians and ultimately businesses improve productivity and work with fewer incidents. A working light can also be chosen to assist visibility in dark environments, helping productivity and the easy handling of goods.
Telemetry systems can be used on Yale lift trucks to capture and report the truck’s status and usage, providing data to help inform fleet management, equipment maintenance and operator behaviour management.
Multifunctional lift truck options to help keep costs down
One way to help drive costs down is to right-size your lift truck fleet. By only investing in the equipment they need, businesses can reduce initial outlay and ongoing maintenance costs. To support this, some Yale trucks have been designed to perform multiple functions.
The multipurpose MRO16-20 outdoor reach truck, for example, can handle goods just as a counterbalance truck would. However, it can also reach up to 7.5m in height. This enables operators to perform both functions with just one truck. It can also transition from outdoor movement of goods to indoor stacking and picking.
The Yale® MO20-30X Order Picker Pallet Truck is also designed to help reduce costs, due to high modularity with other class 3 trucks and multi-use functions. This minimises the need for different trucks. The design also incorporates sensors for greater accuracy and reliability.
Putting the operator first to help combat labour shortages
To support logistics operations with labour shortages, Yale trucks are designed with the operator in mind. Visibility is an important part of the operator experience. This is one of the customisable features of the Yale Series N lift trucks. It can be as simple as improving exhaust routing to avoid obstructing the operator’s view or including clear view guards for improved upward visibility in indoor applications.
Other features to support operators include weather-proof cabin options to keep them comfortable and sharp in outdoor applications while comfort within the cabin can be further improved with an operator fan, heating, air conditioning and USB ports to support technology-driven workplace demands. Air-ride suspension and full suspension seats can also help stave off fatigue from shock and vibration.
Operators can be kept informed by instruments inside the cabin relaying travel speed and other truck-related information, as well as a fork-mounted laser for sighting loads at height.
Lift truck options and considered design, can help to improve operator performance and comfort, contributing to increased productivity and efficiency. This, in turn, can impact on attracting and retaining operators.
Overcome your challenges with Yale Lift Truck Technologies
With customer-driven design, Yale Lift Truck Technologies supports the challenges faced by warehouse operations to help reduce costs while supporting labour and safety issues. Our independent dealer network provides trusted advice, catered to individual requirements – from simple equipment solutions to advanced technologies.
Contact your local independent Yale dealer to learn more about trucks to suit your specific application needs.
