Thanks for reaching out and catching Todays Show! I\u2019m Marty with Warehouse and Operations as a Career. One of the most utilized and versatile pieces of equipment in operations is the Pallet Jack. Wither it\u2019s a Manual Jack, which by the way helped revolutionize the movement of freight, the first models, around 1918, were operated with mechanical linkage only. Today\u2019s manual jacks use hydraulics for lifting. The Electric Pallet Jack can be used for much heavier loads and over the years have become an important item in today\u2019s productivity driven warehouses.
\nI was asked about the position of Pallet Runner, \u201cwhat are their duties and does every operation use them\u201d. Not all warehousing operations use this position, it\u2019s an In-Direct expense position and sometimes difficult to justify unless there\u2019s quite a bit of distance to cover. A Pallet Runner can be utilized by the Receiving Operation, a person that takes the pallets of received product from the dock and runs it across wide docks and into the storage aisles for the forklifts to put-away or place in the racks for storage. In many instances it\u2019s much more productive to bring the pallets to the forklift instead of them navigating the docks and eating up all that travel time. A pallet runner can navigate the environments much safer & quicker than the fork lift operators can, their machines are much larger with obstructed views and they have to really use caution when operating in high traffic areas. The same holds true for the Shipping Operations, the freight can be brought to the docks after selection for the loading process, in the larger facilities its actually the order selector, with their pallet jacks, that are responsible for bringing the product from the aisles, across the docks and to the staging areas for the loading process, I\u2019ve seen them actually responsible for wrapping and loading them into the trailers as well. Many of today\u2019s operations may use a single jack or a double and even triple pallet jacks for moving freight across the docks from the receiving areas to the aisles, carrying up to three times the cube or volume with each minute spent in travel time. We\u2019ll be discussing travel time, a huge expense in our industry by the way, when we get into the Supervisory Positions in later episodes.
\nIt\u2019s not a position that every warehouse probably has a need for, especially in the Production buildings as the movement of freight needs are quite different from a Distribution Facility.
\nGenerally the electric pallet jacks are our first experiences with powered industrial equipment, many times they can be the first added duty, or step if you will, while working at the General Labor task. There may be an pay increase given to us if our job will be involving a substantial portion of our day operating the equipment but remember, we\u2019re just interested in this position for the experience and education being given to us, it\u2019s like school but we\u2019re getting paid and NOT paying for it! The Electric Pallet Jack will probably be our first step or goal in our career path!
\nSince we\u2019re here and talking so much about the pallet jack let\u2019s explore it for a bit. The modern EPJ, LOL a term used by people that don\u2019t really use them is really a great piece of equipment. There many different types, you may use a center drive, a unit with a compartment you stand in and a handle that swings towards you that you turn with and a throttle bar that rolls away from you for forward and towards you for reverse. Many models have a Deadman or emergency brake that you hold down with your foot, once released the machine comes to an immediate stop. For regular braking you PLUG the machine, known as plugging, or reversing the motor. When going forward and you wish to slow or stop you would simply roll back on the throttle bar reversing your motion. Another type of unit is the End Control, there\u2019s a platform you stand on with a handle that swings away from ...