Materials Handling Equipment

Mobile racking has been on the market for many years, but was not really appreciated in South Africa until about 30 years ago, when Barpro Storage started marketing it seriously. It is now, not only in the big companies that use it in their cold stores, but also newer and smaller companies that appreciate what it can save them in terms of space and money. Over the years from big to small companies, it has been emphasised that mobile racking must be treated correctly to avoid accidents and problems and to take extra care in the selection of forklift operators and their training. In recent years, companies are taking shortcuts to reduce costs. Most of the mobile installations are in cold stores, and we have seen the following happen: All the above lead to careless and rushed forklift operations in the cold store. Furthermore, supervisors do not go into the cold stores to see what is happening in there as it is too cold!! It has become evident that managers seem to ignore the loading capacity of the racks which can lead to rack collapses. The above factors all result in expensive repairs where a technician from Barpro is called to repair the damage. We hope that managers may see the need of training the staff and use the correct equipment and save the company money. For more information contact: Desmond FellForklift training expertdesmondfell45@gmail.com076 0550 931   ABOUT DESMOND FELL Now semi-retired, Desmond consults to companies that have challenges with forklift driver performance. He also runs on site forklift operator management seminars as “policing” of forklift drivers is impossible unless supervisors understand what constitutes good driving practice. Without constant site policing, drivers quickly forget their original training even with 2-year refresher courses. The amount of damage caused by poor forklift driving in modern warehouses make management training essential, especially as forklift training course standards have fallen over the years.