Industrial trucks used in warehousing are primarily for the movement of goods, over comparatively short distances, for lifting goods into and out of storage, and for vehicle loading and unloading. The use of trucks also facilitates load unitization and larger loads, so reducing the frequency of movement. It enables quicker movement, and also the use of height for storage purposes.
Industrial trucks can be manually powered and operated or they can be motor(electric) or engine driven. Some powered trucks are designed for pedestrian control, some for control with the operator standing or sitting on the truck. Many trucks have a fork lift capacity, and there are attachments desined for handling loads of specific shapes.
Under Transport Equipment, we mainly name out some of the Industrial Trucks:1. Hand TruckNon-pallet + manual + no stack
1(a) Two-Wheeled Hand Truck
The materials are loaded onto the truck tilted during travel. This is the most common type of transport used when the materials transported are not too heavy
1(b) Dolly
A three or more wheeled hand truck with a flat platform. Since it has no handles, the load is used for pushing
Sometimes referred to as a "cart" or "(manual) platform truck"
2. Pallet Jack
Pallet + walk + no stack
-Front wheels are mounted inside the end of the forks and extend to the floor as the pallet is only lifted enough to clear the floor for subsequent travel.
-Can be used to transport quite a big amount of load manually.
Pallet restrictions: reversible pallets cannot be used, double-faced nonreversible pallets cannot have deck boards where the front wheels extend to the floor, and enables only two-way entry into a four-way notched-stringer pallet because the forks cannot be inserted into the notches
2(a) Manual Pallet Jack
Pallet + walk + no stack + manual
Manual lifting and/or travel
2(b) Powered Pallet Jack
Pallet + walk + no stack + powered
-Powered lifting and/or travel.
-It is more automated which requires less manual handling.
3. Walkie StackerPallet + walk + stack
3(a) Manual Walkie Stacker
Pallet + walk + stack + manual
Manual lifting and/or travel (and straddle load support)
3(b) Powered Walkie Stacker
Pallet + walk + stack + powered
Powered lifting and/or travel (and either counterbalance or straddle load support)
4. Pallet Truck
Pallet + ride + no stack
-Same pallet restrictions as a pallet jack
-Control handle typically tilts to allow operator to walk during loading/unloading
-Powered pallet jack is sometimes referred to as a "(walkie) pallet truck"
5. Platform TruckNon-pallet + powered + no stack
-Platform used to provide support for loads without pallets.
-Used for skid handling; platform can lift skid several inches to allow it to clear the floor, because dragging on the floor will damage the goods.
-Greater lifting capacity compared to fork trucks because the platform provides a greater lifting surface to support a load
5(a) Walkie Platform Truck
Non-pallet + powered + no stack + walk
-Operator walks next to truck
-Floor hand truck is sometimes referred to as a "(manual) platform truck"
5(b) Rider Platform Truck
Non-pallet + powered + no stack + ride
-Operator can ride on truck for easy steering.
6. Counterbalanced (CB) Lift TruckPallet + ride + stack
Also referred to as fork truck.
Weight of vehicle (and operator) behind the front wheels of truck counterbalances weight of the load (and weight of vehicle beyond front wheels); front wheels act as fulcrum or pivot point.
Rated capacity reduced for load centers greater than 24 in. and lift heights greater than 13 ft.
Workhorses of material handling because of their flexibility: indoor/outdoor operation over a variety of different surfaces; variety of load capacities available; and variety of attachments available—fork attachments can replace the forks (e.g., carton clamps) or enhance the capabilities of the forks.
6(a) Sit-Down Counterbalanced Lift Truck
Operator can sit in the truck to operate.
12-13 ft. minimum aisle width requirement
6(b) Stand-Up Counterbalanced Lift Truck
-Operator stands up, giving vehicle narrow-aisle capability
-9-11 ft. minimum aisle width requirement
-Faster loading/unloading time compared to NA straddle and reach trucks
7. Narrow-Aisle (NA) Straddle Truck
-Similar to stand-up CB lift truck, except outrigger arms straddle a load and are used to support the load instead of the counterbalance of the truck
-7-8 ft. minimum aisle width requirement
-Less expensive than stand-up CB lift truck and NA reach truck
-Since the load is straddled during stacking, clearance between loads must be provided for the outrigger arms
-Arm clearance typically provided through the use of load-on-beam rack storage or single-wing pallets for load-on-floor storage
8. Narrow-Aisle (NA) Reach Truck
-Similar to both stand-up CB lift truck and NA straddle truck
-8-10 ft. minimum aisle width requirement
-Load rests on the outrigger arms during transport, but a pantograph (scissors) mechanism is used for reaching, thereby eliminating the need to straddle the load during stacking
-Reaching capability enables the use of shorter outrigger arms (arms > 1/2 load depth) as compared to NA straddle truck (arms = load depth)
-Counterbalance of the truck used to support the load when it extends beyond the outrigger arms
-Although the NA reach truck requires slightly wider aisles than a NA straddle truck since its outrigger arms do not enter a rack during storage, it does not require arm clearance between loads (arm clearance is still required when the truck must enter a storage lane when block stacking or drive-in or -through racks are used)
-Extended reaching mechanisms are available to enable double-deep storage
9. Turret Truck-Greater stacking height compared to other narrow-aisle trucks (40 ft. vs. 25 ft.), but greater investment cost.
-Forks rotate to allow for side loading and, since truck itself does not rotate during stacking, the body of the truck can be longer to increase its counterbalance capability and to allow the operator to sit.
-Can function like a side loader for transporting greater-than-pallet-size load
9(a) Operator-Down Turret Truck
-Operator not lifted with the load
-5-6 ft. minimum aisle width requirement
-Termed a swing mast truck (picture shown) when, instead of just the forks, the entire mast rotates (thus can store on only one side of a aisle while in aisle)
9(b) Operator-Up Turret Truck
-Operator lifted with the load to allow precise stacking and picking
-5-7 ft. minimum aisle width requirement
10. Order Picker
-Similar to NA straddle truck, except operator lifted with the load to allow for less-than-unit-load picking.
-Typically has a fork to allow the truck to be used for pallet stacking and to support a pallet during less-than-pallet-load picking.
-"Belly switch" used for operator safety during picking
11. Tractor-Trailer
-Non-load-carrying tractor used to pull a train of trailers (i.e., dollies or floor hand trucks)
-Extends the transporting capacity of floor hand trucks
-It is also used in airport for baggage transportation.
12. Personnel and Burden Carrier
Non-load-carrying vehicle used to transport personnel within a facility (e.g., golf cart, bicycle, etc.)
13. Automatic Guided Vehicle (AGV)-AGVs do not require an operator
-Good for high labor cost, hazardous, or environmentally sensitive conditions (e.g., clean-room)
-Also termed "automated" guided vehicle
-AGVs good for low-to-medium volume medium-to-long distance random material flow operations (e.g., transport between work cells in a flexible manufacturing system (FMS) environment)
-Two means of guidance can be used for AGV systems:
Fixed path: Physical guide path (e.g., wire, tape, paint) on the floor used for guidance
Free-ranging: No physical guide path, thus easier to change vehicle path (in software), but absolute position estimates (from, e.g., lasers) are needed to correct dead-reckoning error
13(a) Tow AGV
-Used to pull a train of trailers
-Automated version of a tractor trailer
-Trailers usually loaded manually (early type of AGV, not much used today)
13(b) Unit Load AGV
-Have decks that can be loaded manually or automatically
-Deck can include conveyor or lift/lower mechanism for automatic loading
-Typically 4 by 4 feet and can carry 1–2,000 lb. loads
-Typically less than 10 vehicles in AGV system
13(c) Assembly AGV
-Used as assembly platforms (e.g., car chassis, engines, appliances)
-Greatest development activity during the 1980s (alternative to AEMs)
-Typically 50–100 vehicles in AGV system
13(d) Light Load AGV
-Used for small loads (< 500 lbs), e.g., components, tools
-Typically used in electronics assembly and office environments (as mail and snack carriers)
(< style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">13(e) Fork AGV
-Counterbalanced, narrow-aisle straddle, and side loading versions available
-Typically have sensors on forks (e.g., infrared sensors) for pallet interfacing