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How to Transform Your Christmas Operations with a Forklift

Regardless of how big or small your business may be, Christmas is an exceptionally busy, stressful time for all involved in the warehouse and material handling industry. With an increasing number of people ordering products online, the majority of which is shipped from a warehouse, the pressure is piling on for warehouse workers across the country, especially at this time of year.

As the festive period is now in full swing, it’s all the more important to have the right equipment at the helm of your operations, no matter the size of your warehouse. In this article, we’ll be explaining exactly how a forklift can help you to cope with growing demand, whether you have a modest budget for short term hire or if you’re looking to purchase a high-quality machine to help boost productivity around this time of year. Regardless of your budget, we’ll have an affordable option to meet your requirements during the festive season.

Here’s how a forklift can help you this Christmas

There are many benefits to having a forklift at the helm of your warehouse operations, but where they’re extremely advantageous during the rest of the year, they really do relieve warehouse workers of the pressures that come with the Christmas rush. Here are some of the benefits of using a forklift around this time of year – take advantage of this highly-versatile piece of material handling equipment, regardless of your budget.

Forklifts are available for hire

Here at Charnwood Lift Trucks, we have forklifts available for hire, including long and short term contracts. Whether you need a forklift for a week or a month, our team of knowledgeable specialists will be able to provide you with a solution.

This is a popular option that many warehouse owners go with, often hiring several machines at once to help improve efficiency and productivity over the festive period. Once the rush is over, we’ll collect the additional machines at no extra cost to you, so you won’t have to worry about finding long term storage space for them either.

This is also an ideal solution for those who manage to operate perfectly well the rest of the year without a forklift, therefore, it doesn’t really make too much sense to purchase one outright just to see them through the last two months of the year. Renting a forklift is then a logical, cost-effective solution that owners of smaller warehouses swear by around the Christmas period.

Some of the forklift types we have available for rent include:

  • Diesel forklifts
  • LPG forklifts
  • Electric forklifts
  • Aisle-Master forklift – ideal
  • for narrow aisles and corridors
  • Combilift forklifts

As well as forklifts, we also have pallet trucks available for hire over Christmas, so you can enhance warehouse operations even further with additional material handling equipment.

Forklifts provide faster transport

On the run up to Christmas, and throughout December, eCommerce sales seem to skyrocket, and so it can be difficult for warehouses to keep up with the growing demand. For warehouse workers on the ground, it can pile on the pressure when it comes to picking and packing orders, so an efficient mode of transport that can also handle goods in a safe and timely manner, would be the perfect solution.

Moving significantly faster than a warehouse employee would on foot, together with being able to lift and transport heavy items, forklifts have the potential to keep your workers safe, as they won’t have to rush around to meet targets or be expected to lift and carry weighty goods. Overall, a forklift can help to improve productivity, but it also ensures the safety of your employees.

Forklifts improve storage efficiency

Forklifts have the capability to lift extraordinarily heavy loads, something a warehouse worker (or even a few of them) would struggle with. As a forklift is able to lift and move large, heavy items, it also has the ability to store them on taller warehouse racking shelves helping to maximise storage space – something that would be highly-beneficial around this time of year.

Another way to maximise storage space is to have a mezzanine floor installed or look into having additional warehouse racking constructed. With a VNA forklift, you’ll be able to put your warehouse racking closer together, allowing for the installation of more space-saving structures.

Forklifts are ideal for safely handling inventory

With the ability to move and transport bulky, weighty items, it would be a safer option to implement the use of a forklift throughout your warehouse this Christmas. This particular piece of material handling equipment has been specifically designed to handle goods safely, ensuring that, when operated correctly, items don’t roll off or tip over – something that would be even more likely if you were to just rely on workers who didn’t have a forklift at their disposal.

Not only would this put your workers in danger, it would also damage or even destroy the stock that was being moved, which could end up impacting you financially. Every warehouse owner wants to prevent unnecessary, avoidable costs, so save money in the long term and opt to rent or buy a forklift to help improve your business operations.

We have a number of new and used forklifts available for purchase here at Charnwood Lift Trucks, including:

  • Diesel forklifts
  • Electric forklifts
  • LG Gas forklifts
  • Mitsubishi forklifts
  • VNA/articulated forklifts
  • JCB Teletruck forklifts
  • Combilift multi-directional forklifts

Forklifts can take the pressure off your employees

As Christmas is a very busy time of year for everyone, it’s all the more important to take the pressure off of your warehouse employees. Running around on foot can expel much-needed energy, and so it’s important to conserve that throughout the working day so that your valued employees don’t burn out.

A forklift can help them to do their jobs more efficiently and you’ll also see an increase in productivity as they remain alert and dedicated to their roles – something that’s key to ensuring the smooth-running of your warehouse during this festive period.

A forklift safety checklist for the Christmas period

During such a busy period, it’s important that safety checks have been carried out on your forklift and that your employees have been fully-trained in its operation, giving you peace of mind that those behind the wheel of your forklift are protected from harm at all times. This will also help to keep those on the ground safe, allowing workers to freely walk around your warehouse.

Here are a few things you should check before deploying a forklift to help with business operations:

  1. Ensure employees have been adequately trained to drive the forklift
  2. Make sure that, if your forklift needs to be used outdoors, it’s fully prepared for the cold, harsh weather conditions that winter brings – check the tyres and make sure all the lights are working, for example
  3. Ensure workers are given the right clothing – hard hats, fluorescent jackets, protective gloves and steel-capped boots are among some of the things employees should be wearing to keep themselves and others safe
  4. Conduct risk assessment as regularly as possible and take into account the increase in stock levels, potential expansion of workforce and extra machinery

Featured Used Forklifts For Hire

Mitsubishi FD30N (4863)

Purchase Price:

£20,950.00+VAT

Weekly Purchase Price:

Contract Hire From: (per month)

Mitsubishi FD25N (4867)

Purchase Price:

£19000.00+VAT

Weekly Purchase Price:

Contract Hire From: (per month)

Mitsubishi FB30KPAC (2005)

Purchase Price:

£11,850.00+VAT

Weekly Purchase Price:

Contract Hire From: (per month)

Caterpillar EP15PNT (4903)

Purchase Price:

£12,950.00+VAT

Weekly Purchase Price:

Contract Hire From: (per month)

Mitsubishi FD30N (5513)

Purchase Price:

£21,950.00+VAT

Weekly Purchase Price:

Contract Hire From: (per month)

Mitsubishi FD25N (5121)

Purchase Price:

£19,950.00+VAT

Weekly Purchase Price:

Contract Hire From: (per month)

Aisle-Master AM 20WHE (5020)

Purchase Price:

£14,000.00+VAT

Weekly Purchase Price:

Contract Hire From: (per month)

Aisle-Master AM 20WHE (5019) - ON HIRE

Purchase Price:

£21,500.00+VAT

Weekly Purchase Price:

Contract Hire From: (per month)

Mitsubishi FD25N (4859)

Purchase Price:

£19,250.00+VAT

Weekly Purchase Price:

Contract Hire From: (per month)

Mitsubishi FD25N (3915)

Purchase Price:

£16,950.00+VAT

Weekly Purchase Price:

Contract Hire From: (per month)

Mitsubishi FD25N (3750)

Purchase Price:

£14,950.00+VAT

Weekly Purchase Price:

Contract Hire From: (per month)

Mitsubishi FD30NT (2906)

Purchase Price:

£17,750.00+VAT

Weekly Purchase Price:

Contract Hire From: (per month)

Mitsubishi FD25NT (2970)

Purchase Price:

£14,850.00+VAT

Weekly Purchase Price:

Contract Hire From: (per month)

Caterpillar EP18NT (2792)

Purchase Price:

£28,000.00+VAT

Weekly Purchase Price:

Contract Hire From: (per month)