Moving around items, especially in large quantities can be a strenuous task. This is the case mostly in the shipping industry where moving around packages of all sizes is a daily task. Therefore trolleys are utilised to make this task a lot easier for workers. This can be quite a challenge and once trolleys are utilised it makes the working environment far more enjoyable and less of a hassle for workers to perform their daily tasks.
The most common place where you'll find a trolley being used is a warehouse but you can see trolleys used in various types of industrial plants and manufacturing facilities as well as on construction sites. The advantages of a warehouse trolley are so meaningful that the trolleys themselves are not exclusive to warehouses.
Benefits of Using Warehouse Trolleys
Protection
The biggest reason why trolleys are used mainly in warehouses is the fact that they offer added protection for the goods you're transporting. No matter the type of warehouse trolleys you go for, they're still going to keep items from falling off. While some are better at it than others you will benefit from a trolley in other ways too.
Safety
With minimal effort being put in by the user, trolleys are a lot safer to use than most types of material handling equipment. You won't be as fatigued as when using other types of equipment. You will also make your trips from one place to another in the warehouse a lot safer thanks to continuous safety upgrades that trolleys have had over the years.
Space
If you want to save on space in your warehouse, trolleys are the way to go. They are easy to store as they usually don't take up as much space even when being used let alone when they're stored away.
Rigid
When something is small it doesn't necessarily mean it's fragile or weak. In the case of a warehouse trolley, it's actually quite the opposite as trolleys are built tough. This is thanks to the materials being used to manufacture trolleys which are mainly carbon and stainless steel.
Ease of Use
Especially if you go for a hand trolley, you'll notice how easy and intuitive it is to handle it. No matter how heavy of a load you have on the trolley you won't have to struggle moving it around as much as you would with other storage equipment.
Types of Warehouse Trolleys
Platform
A platform trolley is one of the simplest and if not the most plain trolley you'll come across. But it's exactly this design that has made it quite a popular type of warehouse trolley. Platform trolleys are the most versatile since they have one large smooth surface to put stuff on.
Nesting Platform
A nesting platform trolley is a variation of platform trolleys which has a slight deviation in its design. This deviation is what makes it a better solution than a regular platform trolley especially if you need a lot of platform trolleys. They take up a lot less space when stored away since you can “nest” these types of trolleys into each other.
Flatbed
A flatbed trolley is similar to a platform trolley but it has one differentiating feature. This has to do with the tyres and therefore the clearance of the trolley too. Usually, flatbed trolleys have bigger tyres than platform ones which make it easier to go over bumps.
Cage
The best warehouse trolleys when it comes to load containment are cage trolleys. While they sound a bit intimidating, warehouse cages on wheels are nothing like that since their caged design is made to keep items from moving around or falling off. Especially when you need to stack them. This storage cage on wheels will have you using it every day because you won't have to worry about damaging any of the items you'll be moving around.
Order Picking
Also known as shelf trolleys, order-picking trolleys are made to be used when you need to move certain products or inventory from one place to another. While you could say that order-picking trolleys are more common in shops they are still used in warehouses.
Table
Table trolleys come with typically two levels to them. These are smaller than your flatbed or platform trolley as they are made to be used with smaller items. Anything that weighs more than 200 kg is usually over the weight capacity of a table trolley.
Foldable
When you're tight on space, even for nesting platform trolleys, you should consider getting foldable trolleys for your warehouse. Foldaway trolleys, as you'd expect, are able to fold almost in half which is what makes them extremely portable and space-saving. But because of this, they are not suitable for heavy loads.
Turntable
Often referred to as turntable trucks and similar to flatbed trolleys, turntable trolleys are able to perform far better since they have an independent steering axle. This allows you to easily and safely use the trolley in any direction you want without having to plan out each turn.
Container
A container trolley offers load containment too, but the storage capacity it offers is quite limited. But despite that, these types of trolleys are used in facilities where a production line for small items such as screws, bolts and nuts is used. You can put any of these fasteners in the trolley's containers and then move the trolley wherever you want it to be.
Powered
While a hand trolley is not as dependable on an electric motor or fuel, it's not as powerful as a powered one. Powered trolleys are the least tiring to use since all you need to do is move a lever or press a button. They can also carry a lot more weight. But keep in mind that using these trolleys means you need to be more careful when using them and maintain them more than you would a hand trolley.
