An Electric Pallet Jack is a tool that is used to lift and move pallets. Pallet are often laden with product that is heavy and stored in bulk. They are quite helpful in moving these pallets, made of wood, and lifting them so that they can be stacked one on top of the other. In a warehouse setting, this is helpful so that vertical area can be used, thus making more room on the floor of the warehouse. This additional room can then be used to maximize storage of product.
An Electric Pallet Jack is motorized, which allows for the lifting and moving of heavy pallets. They usually have a platform which allows the operator to stand and be out of the way of heavy objects, whilst still being able to operate the machinery. The operator stands on the platform and moves the heavy pallets from one area to another. From this platform, the operator is able to engage the forks of the Electric Pallet Jack so that they can stack the pallets on top of each other, or store them on shelving. A throttle on the handle makes moving the pallets easy. The throttle is used as a steering mechanism which allows for movements in a forward and reverse. This throttle is also used to slow or stop the machine when needed.
The North American industry standards have set guidelines in terms of the standard sizes:
Each shall have a set of two forks, which Primary Business Meaning will each have a width of seven inches.
Fork lengths shall be available in either Small Scale Industries Pdf 36, 42, or 48 inches, respectively.
Forks shall be 2.9 inches from the floor in their lowered setting
Fork heights shall be at least 7.5 inches from the floor, while some will raise even higher.
Some jurisdictions allow for the operation of an electric jack to be used by persons 18 years of age and older only. Generally, those businesses and warehouses which employ the use of an one will have specialized trainings put in place so that the operation of them are done as safely as possible.