Triple-tine forklifts cut congestion at CHEP

CHEP service centres are rolling out a number of measures to reduce wait times.

Following a successful trial at CHEP’s Gillman Service Centre in South Australia during 2014, the pooled equipment provider is looking to roll out triple-tine forklift trucks to its metro operations nationally in 2015.

According to Mike O’Flaherty, regional operations manager, load times have reduced by an average of 10.5 minutes compared to loading with a double-tine forklift.

“It has certainly decreased the wait time customers’ trucks spend in the yard, which delivers cost benefits. I’ve been here [at Gillman Service Centre] for 23 years and this is the least congested I’ve ever seen the yard in this normally busy lead-up to Christmas,” O’Flaherty says.

“By using a triple pallet handler attachment, we are now able to carry three stacks of pallets in a movement compared to two stacks with the double pallet handlers. “This means we achieve a 50% improvement in productivity and a 50% improvement in load/unload times.”

CHEP worked with the manufacturers on the forklift truck specs and on building an attachment that handles three stacks of pallets safely and is strong enough to cope with the 50% increase in weight. The five-tonne fork truck is small enough to manoeuvre around a CHEP yard and has the flexibility to pick up one, two or three stacks of pallets/product at one time.

“The driver acceptance has been really good. Truck drivers have been commenting on the faster load times,” O’Flaherty says.

The company has also fitted the forklift trucks with larger gas tanks, cutting filling time down to once per shift and saving up to 30 minutes per forklift. CHEP Logistics trucks are now loaded overnight to reduce yard congestion during the day.