Benefits of Lightweight Material Handling Equipment

Did you know that picking the right Material Handling Equipment is critical to having a productive, efficient manufacturing or distribution system? It’s true. Each piece of equipment can be carefully selected to help make production easier, by defining the movement, control, storage, or protection of any of a wide variety of components, kits, or other materials. Yes, there are a lot of moving parts, but when they all work together, your people wil be able to perform their assigned tasks with great efficiency, helping to improve both production times and output numbers.

Different types of material handling equipment offer unique benefits when they are put into use. For example, Material Handling Carts can improve your processes in the following ways:

1. Facilitating Better Work Flow and Shorter Production Times
2. Minimizing Downtime Caused by Parts Collection
3. Allowing Skilled Laborers to Focus on High Value Activities
4. Utilizing Factory Floor Space More Efficiently
   (Read more on our blog about how Material Handling Carts Make Production Easier.)

Today, we wanted to focus specifically on some of the benefits of utilizing lightweight material handling equipment in your production process.

1. Safety

We will start with something that should be pretty obvious: lightweight equipment tends to be safer than its heavier counterparts. It is not surprising that heavy equipment can offer far more potential for serious injury. Relatively lightweight material handling solutions, on the other hand, can help prevent the injuries that can be caused by large, heavy equipment.

2. Ease of Use

Lightweight equipment is almost always easier to use than heavy equipment. Many pieces of heavy equipment necessitate your employees undergoing specialized training or licensing before they can use the equipment. Simpler, more flexible solutions, on the other hand, are easier to use and easier to work with. That means your employees are far more likely to be able to perform their duties simply and easily with a minimal amount of training.

3. Maneuverability

Again, it should come as no surprise that lightweight equipment is more maneuverable than heavier alternatives. When unloaded, lightweight equipment can be moved quickly and easily from place to place without worry of injury or need for extra maneuvering room. Even when loaded, their simpler design and customarily smaller size allows for the movement of full loads through smaller spaces because you don’t need extra room for the equipment itself.

4. Forklift Free Environments

One of the most sought after benefits of lightweight material handling equipment is the ability to move toward a forklift free environment. Forklifts are a common sight in industrial settings, but they are big, heavy, dangerous machines. In fact, forklifts are one of the leading causes of workplace injuries and deaths every year. People get hurt, or even killed, when the forklift strikes them, the forklift tips over, the forklift crushes them against another surface, they are struck by items falling off of forklifts, or they fall off of a forklift themselves.

In order to help address these safety issues, many companies are looking for ways to create forklift free environments or limit forklift use to restricted areas. High-quality, lightweight equipment can help facilitate this kind of transition and make your facility a much safer place.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are some real benefits to buying good, strong, lightweight material handling equipment.

If you want help finding solutions that are right for you and your business, Contact FlexQube Today, and let one of our representatives help you design exactly what you need.

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FlexQube’s top 5 industrial push carts

The importance of custom material handling carts

How to use flatbed carts to improve your material handling