Pallet truck proves worth
March 1st 2010 Tough working conditions present a serious challenge for Crown's robust new WT
3000 rider pallet truck - just what the manufacturer's development team wanted
Actebis Peacock places heavy demands on its vehicle fleet.
The leading German electronics wholesaler employs
1,800 people worldwide and operates two sites in
Germany comprising 65,000 sq m of storage space, with 50,000
storage areas for more than 30,000 different products.
The company is capable of delivering more than 12,000
consignments every day and when customers place orders by
5pm, they receive their goods the next day. Combined with the
high throughput of goods, this same-day despatch policy places
huge strain on the vehicle fleet.
The conditions represent a serious challenge for Crown's new
WT 3000 Series - and the Crown development team relishes this
challenging environment for testing the new vehicle to the limit.
The Group has 75 Crown forklifts in its fleet and is currently
testing the new WT 3000 rider pallet truck at its Wünnenberg-
Haaren site.
"Our quota for same-day despatches is around 98%.
Maintaining this quota is vital to the health of the company," says
J Banneyer in the operations and engineering department at
Wünnenberg-Haaren.
Actebis Peacock uses the WT 3000 truck for unloading
incoming goods, picking individual pallets and loading up
outgoing transport vehicles. "One of our operators' most
important daily tasks is scanning pallet labels, so the truck has to
have enough storage space and working surfaces for scanners,
consignment notes and other paraphernalia. It also has to
be flexible and easy to manoeuvre, so operators can
quickly shift goods around inside narrow trailers,"
Banneyer explains.
Crown's engineers designed the
new pallet truck for use on loading
docks and ramps, optimising it for
typically high-stress working
conditions. That's why the WT 3000 has a
drive unit suspension system which helps operators to
manoeuvre easily and react swiftly in narrow loading
spaces, even when they're working with heavy loads.
Crown's built-in Work Assist System includes
accessories such as clipboards, scanner mountings and
storage bins, so drivers no longer have to leave the
working area to fetch what they need. This saves valuable
working time – as do the truck's Quick-Exit side
restraints. Because they fold out of the way, operators
no longer have to walk around the restraints to reach
the forks saving them a few steps each
time they climb down. In a single shift
this equates to a significant amount of
reduced fatigue for the operator.
In particular, operators like the way Crown's
Access 123 control system gives them easy access to the
truck. "You don't need keys to start up the new WT 3000. Drivers
all have their own codes, which assign to them individual levels
of authorisation," adds Banneyer. Access 123 is integrated into
the new WT 3000, and by associating operator profiles with
PINs, it helps prevent inappropriate use of trucks.
Every evening Actebis Peacock operators must load up around
30 transport vehicles as quickly as possible, which means shifting
several hundred pallets. Dozens of trips across dock boards can
impact operator's health and performance, along with safety and
throughput. Stefan Halsband, who works in the operations and
engineering department at the company's Soest site, has been
involved in a six-month trial of Crown's new WT 3000
truck. He has nothing but praise for the truck's special
FlexRide suspension system.
"When you're loading lorries, you need good
suspension and FlexRide keeps drivers relaxed and
cheerful even after they've transported
40 or 50 pallets across
dock boards," he
explains.
The Actebis Peacock
teams have also been
impressed by the sheer
durability of the new
WT 3000. Since the
Group
started using the pallet
truck, not a single moment of
downtime has been lost to
unscheduled maintenance.
Halsband adds: "When drivers turn off dock boards too early,
truck castors quickly wear out because of the impact.With this
new Crown truck, wear and tear on the castors is minimised
thanks to the floating suspension.What's more, the steel
reinforcement means they're
extremely solid and stable." More articles from Crown Gabelstapler GmbH & Co.KG: | 
