Working in a huge warehouse is never easy, but luckily for most, there are a lot of tools and equipment that can make the job much more efficient and less taxing. Perhaps the longest serving piece of equipment for that job is the trolley. Warehouse employees have always been lifting and lugging heavy items, but transporting them from the warehouse to their loading bay has always required a use of machinery and trolleys.
Over the years, the variety of warehouse trolleys has drastically increased. You can find them in a variety of designs and sizes to meet specific needs of big industrial and warehouse storage facilities. But why is it that trolleys have endured the test of time? And what are all the different types of trolley designs available?
Before we get into that, it’s important to consider the material the trolley you want is made for. Typically, they should be durable and easy to maneuver. The stainless steel trolley is ideal for most heavy-duty jobs, and they’re relatively lightweight. You can think of the stainless steel trolley like conventional shopping cart or platform trucks, and you’ll see where I’m going with this.
The most popular types of warehouse trolleys are hand trolleys, platform and cage trolleys. They all find their use in the warehouse, so picking the right one will be mainly dependent on the items you store. They all do mundane and time-consuming tasks more efficiently, thus reducing operational costs and increasing customer satisfaction.
Platform trolleys are arguably the most common warehouse trolley out of all types. They feature a flat platform which is mounted on a 4 wheel chassis and either has a handle of one or both sides. They typically have a weight capacity between 250kg or 500kg, but that can vary. The platform is either large or small and open or caged. The heavy-duty models are made of steel (stainless most commonly), while lightweight models are made of alumnium.
Cage trolleys are practically platform trolleys with walls preventing items from falling off during transport. Therefore, they offer superior employee safety, and in terms of use, they can be multi-purpose and large or departmentalised through shelving or inner rails. Larger, heavy-duty cage trolleys are usually made of steel with sturdier chassis and wheels, and are safer to transfer heavy items.
And lastly, hand trolleys feature two-wheels with a small base and a ruggedly-made back. These are very common because of their simplicity. You basically stack boxes on top of each other on their solid or forked base, tilt the trolley and push. Its use is limited to short distance transport and light loads. They can carry up to 250kg and can be folded flat.
