The versatile and highly manoeuvrable powered pallet trucks have a seating area from which the operator steers the truck around the warehouse. The driver will pick up a steel open-topped cage containing sacks of mail and deliver them to a sorting area on the shop-floor from which the mail handlers then sort the sacks into empty cages around them according to the area they are to be mailed. All cages have space beneath them for the forks.

The fork-lift truck with its high weight-bearing capacity and vertical reach is used to stack the cages around the centre, this time on wooden pallets to ensure they are safely held in position. However, the smaller and lighter pallet truck is normally used to load and unload the delivery vehicles. Generally speaking, the pallet and fork-lift trucks’ batteries will hold a charge of roughly ten hours, enabling them to be in constant use throughout a working shift.

To ensure safety in areas where fork-lift trucks are in operation, warehouse pedestrians are required to wear high-visibility vests at all times, and steel toe-capped boots or shoes. In a typical mail processing centre, walkways are clearly marked out and workers should not stray from them without carefully checking for trucks first.

A light, upright sack truck, usually constructed from aluminium, has a capacity of only seven kilograms, but is simply ideal for carrying stacked boxes or sacks. It will tilt back onto two wheels when being moved and some models have folding base plates, so they can be easily stored on large shelves. The sack truck is versatile and may even be used at home, in the garage or the garden.

Hand pallet trucks are ideal for use in small warehouses. The truck has two forks which are inserted under the pallet and the handle is used as a hydraulic pump to lift the forks and the pallet onto the forks wheels. Before moving, it is essential to ensure its load is evenly distributed across the pallet. To apply the brake, simply return the handle to an upright position. A foot pedal releases the air from the piston, dropping the pallet into its new position. With a typical load capacity of two thousand five hundred kilograms, the hand pallet truck is often a worthwhile investment.

There are a dozen different types of trucks that are used to move items around, and some of them can be used in hazardous environments, such as around flammable materials.

The use of powered industrial trucks is very important around heavy items, where merchandise and materials can be too heavy for people to lift by themselves, without the aid of machinery.

You should be cautious around powered industrial trucks however, as they can cause accidents if the correct training has not first been taken. Operating powered industrial trucks requires training and certification in their safe use. This has to be renewed every three years.

When training to operate powered industrial trucks you will be trained in the practical use of the vehicles themselves, and you will receive classroom training.

Some of things that will be covered are:

-    The specific features of the powered industrial truck
-    The operating procedures for the powered industrial truck
-    Important safety concerns
-    Health and safety in the workplace and the environment where the powered industrial truck will be used
-    Practical usage and operation of the powered industrial truck
-    You must also demonstrate that you can safely and competently use the powered industrial truck

Industrial trucks can be powered by different power sources, and as such could be classified as either power trucks or as hand trucks.

For example, hand trucks are physically pushed by the manual worker, so that some of the load is taken by the operator. The person using the hand truck then also has to balance the load, as it could topple backwards or forwards. These hand trucks are used to carry medium weighted items, such as refrigerators, washing machines and other items that are more easily ‘trucked’ around, rather than carried.

They are not used to carry very heavy items.

In addition to the two wheel hand trucks, there are four wheel hand trucks used. These hand trucks include dollies, carts, wagons and flat trucks. Many of these trucks feature hydraulic mechanisms to allow for easy loading.

Power trucks are used for the more heavy items, and they are either powered by an engine or by an electric motor, powered by batteries. One such truck is a forklift truck, which features a very powerful fork mechanism on the front of the truck, which can be used for lifting heavy items. Storage solutions are just a step away with these great trucks.

When you use an industrial truck, you must first understand how they work.  Industrial trucks tend to be narrow yet tall so it is not surprising that they can fall over fairly easily; it is certainly not the same level of stability experienced in a car.  Stopping one is also quite different to stopping a car; industrial trucks do not stop as quickly.

To understand how industrial trucks are so different consider how their centre of gravity is different.  With industrial trucks there are two weights each on different sides of a pivot point – that pivot point is the front wheels.  When you put a load on the forks, the load must be balanced by the industrial truck’s weight.  When you pick up a weight on the forks, there is then a new centre of gravity created by the combined two.  How stable the truck is will depend on how much load is on it and where that centre of gravity is.

When you go to use industrial trucks they must always be inspected first and if they are not safe, they must be removed from use immediately for health and safety reasons.