Slingsby offers efficiency advice

Industrial and commercial equipment provider Slingsby has presented business with a six-point guide as to how they can maximise efficiency with the use of certain equipment and kit.

Slingsby says while there are many different kinds and categories of handling equipment, some are seen as essential across different industries, including print, and can go a long way to helping enhance operations.

First, Slingsby highlights hand trucks and platform trucks as among the most versatile pieces of labour-saving equipment that can be applied for many different uses.

“From the capacity to the style, material or even wheel type, hand and platform trucks come in a variety of specifications according to the setting they are intended for and what needs transporting,” Slingsby says.

“Trucks with swivel wheels, for example, can easily navigate tight corners in offices and school buildings, those with larger weight allowances may find more use in industrial settings.”

Next, Slingsby says shelf and container trollies are a very efficient way of moving items to where they need to go, with making the routine processes as easy and swift as possible being of the utmost importance for the well-being of staff.

“Container trucks and trollies can be used to move heavier items around such as food and beverage deliveries and bed linen,” Slingsby says, adding: “Shelf trollies, meanwhile, can be used to easily move smaller items like cleaning equipment and room supplies.”

Also highlighted in the guide are pallet trucks or pallet jacks for when goods are primarily transported on pallets. These feature two forks to grip onto the pallet and a hydraulic system, which Slingsby says means they can be used by hand and with minimal effort, moving large quantities or heavy loads around different areas in a time-efficient way.

Moving on, driveable trucks such as forklifts, sideloaders and order pickers can play a key role in helping print business operate, according to Slingsby.

“Some are designed solely for the movement of materials and others both load and stack,” Slingsby says, adding: “For example, if you have a small space with a stacking system, sideloaders are specially designed to easily navigate narrow aisles and store items at height.

“Stackers are another type of bulk material handling equipment that lift items off the ground and onto shelving. While they do a similar job to forklift trucks, stackers are less expensive to run and are thus a more cost-effective solution for small to medium applications.”

Slingsby also highlighted electric drive-powered tugs, which it says may be a better solution for increasing efficiency. Using electric batteries, these programmable tugs can push, pull, and steer wheeled loads around and are useful for moving large items across inclines or declines.

Finally, if your facility works with large quantities of items, it is best to use equipment that is designed to move items in bulk, simultaneously, with Slingsby picking out conveyor systems as a good example of this and can be either manual or motor-driven.

“While both can increase labour efficiency and improve packing and dispatch times, motor-driven belts provide a greater degree of control for when items need to be moved across inclines or declines,” Slingsby says.

“This also reduces the risk of injuries amongst your staff and makes the facility an overall safer workplace.”