When asked which type of trolley or truck is better for moving goods, the answer isn’t that straightforward. There are several things that need consideration before choosing equipment and by answering a short set of questions, this can hopefully lead you to a simple answer.

Unlocking efficiency combined with safety in today's fast paced business world is critical for the transportation of heavy loads when negotiating stairways and other challenging terrains.

When it comes to efficiently storing and transporting goods, stillages and pallets are essential tools for many businesses.

In today's fast-paced business world, efficiency and productivity are key to staying ahead of the competition. When it comes to warehouse operations, streamlining processes is essential for meeting customer demands and maximising profits. One effective way to achieve this is by investing in top-of-the-line material handling equipment. From fork stackers and pallet trucks to conveyors and automated systems, these tools can revolutionise your warehouse operations and take them to new heights.

One-in-three accidents at work are caused by manual handling. In 2022 out of the 1.8 million working people suffering from a work-related illness, 477,000 of them experienced problems from a job-related musculoskeletal disorder according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Furthermore, 300,000 people in the UK were troubled with back pain caused by manual handling incidents!

Sack trucks have been around since the industrial revolution and were used to move large sacks of spices around the docks. As this was usually the job of young boys, the simple L-shaped sack truck with two wheels was invented to allow the children single handedly move goods much heavier than they could carry. That design has survived and is still in use today. There have also been further design developments resulting in numerous material handling trucks more suited to specific tasks.

As everyone knows, pallet trucks are used to move pallets around warehouses, loading bays and factories all over the world. As building construction projects have seen an increase in activity since the relaxing of pandemic restrictions during late 2021, full steam ahead seems to be the mantra for many large projects around the UK.

When there is a pile of goods that are needed to be moved from one area to another, there are various ways in which that can be achieved. You can either handball each item or place the goods onto a truck or trolley of some description and push or pull them to their new location.

Moving the drums around in small confined areas is another process that requires careful consideration. The simple and most economical way is by using a drum dolly or drum truck.

Manually moving loads on even a flat surface can be an arduous task at the best of times, but factor in the additional effort to complete this task up or down a flight of stairs and the task can become extremely physical not to mention having a far greater risk of injury. Narrow stairways, twisting stairs and small landings can all present dangers. The risk extends from the individual carrying out the task itself, through to injury of dropping goods on people using the stairs below and of course to the accidental damage to the goods in question.

Human nature often leads us to act in haste but needlessly means we sometimes end up repenting at leisure! We have all tried at one time or other to pick up some awkward load that we wish we hadn’t. Either we end up with a back injury, suffer a fall or damage the load in question. If we had stopped for one minute to ponder what help was at hand, then we might well have saved ourselves from avoidable anguish.

Businesses are often faced with the need to provide new or additional materials handling or access procedures in order to deal with trading expansion, health and safety implementation or new legal requirements. It is very easy to overlook the existing equipment that you already have within your organisation, that could easily be adapted to suit the task in hand.

When you normally think of pallet trucks you think of a helpful tool that moves wooden or plastic pallets around a warehouse or factory floor. Well, of course they do predominately do that, but there are also a whole variety of other styles that are designed for many different tasks or uses in less traditional environments.

Whilst every company is unique in its own way, the work problems it can encounter on a daily basis are often shared throughout industry. Action Handling has a 48 year trading history, during which it has accrued a fountain of knowledge, so when it comes to finding solutions for work problems, we can often pull on previous projects completed for other customers with similar hurdles to jump.

Before buying cylinder handling and storage equipment it is important to understand and assess how different types of cylinders need to be handled and also to establish the actual requirements of individual gases by identifying them in the first place.

As your business grows, chances are your equipment requirements will grow with it, requiring investment in larger items to meet your needs. Sometimes it can seem easier to hire equipment in the short term, but it may be better in the long term, to invest in your ongoing growth by purchasing rather than hiring.

The man hours lost in your warehouse can seriously jeopardise the effectiveness of your business as a whole. A goods inwards delay can prevent the timely manufacture or assembly of finished products and similarly delays in the picking and despatch of those products will mean that your customers will not receive goods on time. What can be a generally accepted first class product can be completely let down by poor warehouse planning.

There are many trade names covering this product but at the end of the day it is a conveyor that can be bent around corners or obstacles, it is flexible throughout its length, it can expand in length to suit an application plus you have the option of having the conveyor fitted with either rollers or skatewheels. Sound confusing….well it is not really, it`s just a matter of choices that best suit a situation.  

From 2013 to 2014 e-commerce sales increased by 20%, and the pattern looks set to continue in 2015, with changes to e-commerce and consumer ordering being cited as one of the leading industry trends this year. Demand is becoming more varied, with consumers ordering smaller item-specific purchases within a tighter delivery timeframe, as most e-businesses now offer delivery in less than 24 hours. Such specialised ordering means that suppliers now have to provide individual deliveries more quickly than ever before, so having your supply system as streamlined as possible is an essential part of staying competitive within a rapidly growing and changing industry.