Trucks on state highways are getting heavier. The Federal legal weight limit is also likely to increase from 80,000 to 97,000 pounds to make better use of truck fleets and their fuel economy. When the DOT says trucks can haul more weight that means shippers can put more weight on a pallet. So, what does that mean for logistics managers?

You’ll continue to welcome increasingly heavier loads to your docks. The question remains: Will your lift trucks handle these heavier loads? Jim Shephard, president of Shephard’s Industrial Training Systems, told me that this trend toward heavier truckloads doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to invest in a new fleet of beefier lift trucks right away. You may be able to re-counterweight what you have.

Shephard told me of a company that changed its product line so that a key component added several hundred pounds to its total weight. The problem was that this company’s warehouse didn’t have lift trucks big enough to handle these new products efficiently. Shephard proved to this company it could counterweight the existing chassis and get bigger lift trucks out of their existing fleet, giving them a couple more years of use out of their lift trucks—and a little extra time to plan for their next investment.

Even if you put the investment off, it wouldn’t hurt to start planning. Shop around for vendors or dealers who are familiar with consultative selling. That involves salespeople who do their own research about your operations—including your facility’s policies and procedures—as well as its safety record.

Where lift trucks are concerned, if an assessment isn’t done, specifications may not match up well with the process, creating capacity or maneuvering problems. What will be the primary job for the lift truck? Shephard says 55 percent of that lift truck’s life may involve one task. Once that’s determined, then break down other tasks by percentages.

Don’t make a rash purchasing decision. Problems will begin very quickly as your operators try to fit that square peg into your round-hole operation. Even if your operators comply with proper operating procedures 93 percent of the time, that 7 percent could result in an injury or significant product damage.

If a misapplied piece of equipment or technology forces an operator to change a good material handling technique to a bad one, it won’t be the operator’s fault. Shephard told me he’s had five calls from attorneys in the last few months looking for an expert witness on fatalities involving lift trucks. Jim’s doing his homework on these cases. Are you doing yours to avoid being the next one?