5 Ways AisleMaster changes the way you THINK about your warehouse

Aislemaster? Articulated forklift? Ever heard of it? When it comes to materials handling for your warehouse, you’re probably used to hearing about reach trucks, pallet jacks and forklifts, right?

  Guess what

There is another option in town, and if you haven’t heard about it yet…. excellent. I am excited to teach you something new. Pick up that money you left on the table when you bought your last machines because this concept will change the way you look at your warehouse. You know how they say, “change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change?” Change is good. Especially when it means:

1.      More storage, without changing facilities

2.      Reduce your fleet size, same productivity

3.      Very narrow aisle (VNA), outdoor capabilities

4.      Safer operation, no trade offs

5.      Lowest cost of ownership

The AisleMaster's ability to articulate the mast, allows the machine to access Very Narrow Aisles

Ok let’s Zoom in on that...

1.      Increase your storage in the same space:

WHY? Because it reduces your cost/pallet

HOW? Fit more inventory into the same space.

HOW ? you fit more inventory into the same space by reducing your Aisle widths

For reference here are the aisle width requirements of the most common styles of forklift trucks in the market today:

• 3-wheeled forklift needs min. 11’.
• Reach truck needs roughly a 9’6”
• The AisleMaster needs min. 5’3”

        Adding more Storage into a given space will reduce your $$/pallet

Ok so, you can pack more in with the AisleMaster because of it's ability to articulate the mast.

How else can it help??

2.      Reduce your fleet size - 2 for 1 deal of the day

What if you could replace 2 machines with 1 and do the same work?

Replace the machine you use to unload and load your trailers. Then, go ahead and replace your narrow aisle machine too! Let's stop and think about this for a second:

It's outside of your normal thought process, what could that mean for your business?

The Aislemaster can access trailers

and enter narrow aisles.

            This reduces handling costs, maintenance costs, labour costs

3. Very narrow aisle (VNA) access, with versatility of a regular counterbalance forklift that goes outside

There are very few machines that can effectively do this. I don’t want to oversell it though because the AisleMaster is not a master of outdoor rough terrain like it is the master of aisles. However, where a reach truck is limited to smooth surfaces only because of its low clearance and hockey puck-like wheels, the AisleMaster is not limited:

The Aislemaster can load from truck directly to rack reducing amount of handling,  therefore reducing product damage, labour, and energy costs while increasing the workflow.

4.      Move your products more safely AND efficiently.

Look at it from a different angle. No literally, look at the load from a different angle rather than through the mast. If things are easier to see you’re bound to be safer… and more efficient.

*A view from the operator seat while picking up the pallet. The operator can see the load much more clearly than through a mast (skip to 2:30 in video)

 To enhance the experience further, you can also install a camera embedded in the carriage, with a display that's easy to see for the lifts at height.

      Better visibility = more productive = better service for your customer

5.      Lowest Cost of Ownership

Let’s do a comparison - you must be asking by now, is there anything like AisleMaster out there? Yes, and the machine is called Bendi.

I appreciate competition because it makes everyone better at the end of the day. That’s why the design of the AisleMaster is fundamentally different from the Bendi, and you will see how simple it is:

• AisleMaster - the drive motors are in the front of the machine, which pull it forward.
• Bendi – the drive motors are in the back, underneath the battery which push it forward.

Consider the below illustration showing a man moving the chair on a carpet. Which would be easier do you think?

PUSHING OR PULLING?

Pulling the machine along the floor requires less effort than pushing, which means less heat &  overall wear on the system, leading to reduced maintenance costs and downtime as a result. 

Case Study

Below is the Combilift-created engineered layout of an ecommerce company that previously operated a fleet of Bendi articulating forklift trucks. They switched to running AisleMasters for their business. Would I really have brought this up if they didn’t??

Reality check- this is just one company out of dozens of companies in various industries around the world that are switching away from Bendi into the Aislemaster. Why? Because of the fundamental design illustrated above: Push vs. Pull. Such a simple concept that causes a significant reduction in the cost of ownership. Here are the issues companies tend to see with a machine that is designed to push the machine forward:

• Controllers overheating
• Underneath battery compartment fires
• Pre-mature drive motor wear
• Steering leaking issues

Operation specs – 170,000 sq.ft., 32’ top beam level, 2200 lbs pallets, 83” Aisles = 20,000+ Pallet positions using the AisleMaster articulated forklift truck over a traditional style machine.

Few Pictures from the project

AisleMaster ZOOM IN - Specs and Capabilities

To Conclude

Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change. AisleMaster has revolutionized the way people think about material flow in their business, so the realization comes that there is a better option out there that can do the same work more safely and efficiently without having to give up anything in return. In fact, you will be able to handle more work, and store more product in the same space while reducing your overall operational costs.

I look forward to seeing if this article has challenged you to look at your status quo. Because keeping things the same isn’t good enough anymore, it takes fortitude and innovation to move forward and keep pace with our rapidly changing world.

Go to our website here, if you want to know more. Otherwise reach out to me at the below numbers to see how I can help you.

Thank you,

Taylor Holbrook - Product specialist

[email protected]; 587 228 5780