Choosing the right transport equipment, adapted to work in various and changing conditions, is currently one of the most important factors affecting the proper functioning of an enterprise. High demands are placed primarily on forklifts, which, through appropriate adaptation, become specialist machines.
Forklifts in common use are used for lifting goods, transporting them, and unloading them in a specific place. However, there are also those that can be used for snow removal, pouring bulk materials, or discharging various types of liquids. What forklifts are used for depends primarily on the nature of the enterprise and the working conditions.
– Continuous improvement of equipment and adapting it to the individual needs of customers is currently a challenge faced by companies producing forklifts – says Paweł Włuka from STILL – Vehicles are appropriately configured in many respects. Modifications can include, for example, the power source, load capacity, or the operator’s workstation.
One of the most frequently transformed elements of a forklift is its forks. In their place, for example, palletizers, rotators, or clamps are mounted. And all this depends on what the vehicle will be used for. In cases where the warehouse is equipped with very high racks and it is impossible to see if the pallets are being positioned correctly, special cameras can be mounted and activated on the forklift masts. The operator of such a vehicle, from a seated position, can see on a color monitor what is happening at a height of even several meters (depending on the mast height). Such a solution significantly increases the safety and comfort of the user’s work.
The aesthetic qualities of the machine are also becoming equally important for entrepreneurs. Responding to market demand, some manufacturers offer the production of a forklift in colors based on the customer’s special order. – Our brand has its characteristic color palette, by which we can be easily recognized – confirms Paweł Włuka from STILL – If, however, a customer wants to have a forklift in a color that distinguishes their company, we can easily apply such colors to the vehicles. This applies to both new and used machines.
In addition to changing the structural or aesthetic elements of warehouse logistics vehicles, special software used in forklifts has recently become very popular. It serves primarily to increase the work efficiency of the entire fleet and optimize operating costs. One of the suppliers of such solutions is STILL, which offers its customers, among other things, the special STILL Report service, enabling online fleet control. By logging into the website, we gain access to data on our fleet, its operating costs, or the current status of periodic forklift inspections. Another solution that STILL intends to introduce to its offer will be comprehensive control tools belonging to the FleetDataServices group. Thanks to such a set, it will be possible, for example, to assign a forklift to an operator or register any “collisions”.