Industrial Trucks
Industrial trucks are manual or powered vehicles used to transport, lift, lower or remove objects, materials, parts and equipment that are too large or heavy for workers to handle. These lift trucks are generally smaller than commercial vehicles, and are not licensed to operate on roads or highways. Instead, they are used within manufacturing facilities, factories, warehouses, shipping facilities and construction zones both outdoors and indoors. The trucks handle materials in a horizontal path and by vertically lifting or lowering loads. Industrial trucks are powered electrically, pneumatically or are manually pushed. Some are even fully automated and require zero human guidance. Workers walk behind them, sit down in the control booth or stand on the truck. The loads they carry are either large, heavy objects or large quantities of smaller objects that are loaded onto a pallet, in boxes or in crates. Forklift trucks offer more maneuverability and flexibility than their alternatives-cranes and conveyor systems. Since most carry very heavy loads, they contain weights to counterbalance the load and prevent any tipping, which could result in serious injury.
Several different types of industrial trucks are manufactured and these are divided into two main categories - manual and powered. Manual trucks include hand trucks, pallet jacks and walkie stackers, all of which the operator steers and pushes. There are many more types of powered trucks. Pallet trucks are usually walk behind and steered by the operator for loading and unloading applications. They are composed of two large forks that do not raise and lower. The platform truck is similar to pallet trucks, but instead of a set of forks, non-palletized objects are loaded onto a skid. They may be ridden or walk behind. A counterbalanced lift truck, commonly known as a forklift, is composed of a steering wheel and seat or platform for the operator, and a set of forks with lifting capabilities. Boxes and pallets may be stacked, lifted and lowered vertically by the forks. Some forklifts are designed to maneuver in tight spaces. These are called narrow aisle forklifts. Other truck lift designs include reach trucks, which have outriggers and stabilizing arms. These components allow for more complicated order picking and moving capabilities. In narrow aisles, sideloader trucks are also used. These trucks have a lifting platform that extends from the side rather than the front or back, meaning they don't need to turn as often as standard forklifts. Some industrial trucks are mainly used to transport workers throughout facilities, while others, called AVG (automatic guided vehicles) are programmed to move about a fixed or free range path and do not require an operator.
