Using heavy-duty carts to increase safety in your warehouse

The importance of safety in warehouses

Work activities in warehouses can create several health and safety risks. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics*, the average rate of recorded injuries in the warehousing industry was 4.8 for every 100 full-time workers. Implementing the use of heavy-duty carts into your workflow will not solve every issue you face, but it can help you create a safer work environment.

*Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

When choosing which type of heavy material handling equipment to purchase, you may find it difficult to compare the different alternatives. After all, there are many factors that influence the buying decision for any company looking to invest in this type of equipment:

• Factory productivity;

• Environmental issues;

• Maintenance issues;

• Operator skills and training;

• Energy consumption;

• Space utilisation;

• And many more.

However, where people and payloads are concerned, safety should be your absolute top priority. 

Some of the most common categories of handling equipment in warehouses today (e.g. wheel-based heavy-duty platform carts, overhead cranes, hoists and forklifts) raise serious safety concerns, such as:

• Staff risks and injuries due to unsafe operating procedures or unsafe equipment;

• Falling objects due to improper use of equipment or employee’s carelessness;

• Surface hazards due to poor flooring or obstacles;

• Operator risks due to poor training or operator distractions;

• Unsafe loads due to improper loading and preparation.

To avoid these hazards, it is essential to make equipment checks commonplace and take warehouse safety seriously. The Shifter is a specialised heavy-duty transport solution that is easy to operate and minimizes safety risks in the warehouse.

Benefits of using heavy-duty carts

Making use of heavy-duty carts evidently makes transporting heavy loads easier, but it also has some other benefits worth mentioning.

Using vehicles that are specialized in heavy-duty transport in your warehouse dramatically reduces the chances of industrial accidents occurring, thus keeping your warehouse staff safer while on the job. Many heavy-duty carts, like the Shifter, have built-in sensors for obstacle detection and features like visual and audio signals to alert nearby workers when they are in operation.

Moreover, using these vehicles also keeps your payload safe. Although the end responsibility still lies with the vehicle’s operator, heavy-duty carts are designed to prevent accidents in the workplace, thus ensuring that your load gets from A to B without any problems. 

How the Shifter keeps your staff and stock safe

The Shifter has several built-in safety features that help you keep your staff and stock safe. Here are some of the highlights:

• Removable plug of the connection between the battery and the vehicle’s circuit: electrical power can be safely removed from the vehicle to work properly;

• Integrated lifting eyes: these are places on the vehicle that are provided for attaching lifting eyes so that the vehicle can be hoisted up if possible;

• Covered dangerous parts: moving parts of the vehicle are covered whenever possible to avoid dangerous situations;

• Lifting points: similar to the integrated lifting eyes, the lifting points can be used to place jacks under the vehicle.

Different industries where the Shifter can be used

Heavy-duty carts are necessary for several industries. We develop custom-made variations of the Shifter products, allowing us to assist organizations in need of a transport solution in every sector. Here are four key industries where the Shifter’s innovative transport solutions are already making a difference.

Construction

The Shifter can easily and safely transport heavy or lengthy components used in construction (e.g. loading barriers, concrete panels and metal builds). 

Wind power industry

The wind power industry is notorious for posing numerous transport challenges. The components that are often used in this industry (e.g. gondola, mast, and rotor blades) are often difficult to move around. Luckily, AVT’s innovative solutions were designed to pass trials like these with ease and make transporting large and heavy objects a walk in the park.

Engines and transformers

Are you tired out by the sheer thought of transporting diesel engines and transformers before you’ve even started doing your research? Why not consider using the Shifter to make heavy-duty transport in your warehouse a lot easier?

Aviation and aerospace

One of the major challenges in the aviation and aerospace industry is transporting heavy and delicate components, like wings, engines, cables, or even loaded rocket boosters. The Shifter comes in to face these challenges.