Design advances

Today’s narrow aisle trucks can reach heights well beyond earlier generations of trucks. At Crown, says Grote, stock pickers can go higher than 30 feet, reach trucks more than 40 feet, and turret trucks beyond 50 feet. “This was all out of bounds a decade ago,” he says. “Today it’s realistic, and it helps us provide better solutions for our customers.”

Narrow aisle trucks today are also able to lift heavier loads. Yale’s narrow aisle reach trucks can hit the 3,000- to 4,000-pound range, for instance. Raymond’s swing reach trucks offer comparable lifting capacities, as do Combilift’s AisleMaster series of trucks.

Today, narrow also means narrower. Standard racking aisles are generally in the range of 12 feet wide. Today’s narrow aisle configurations—and the width that narrow aisle trucks can manage—can go down to 5.5 feet. Today’s very narrow aisle trucks can manage that, which helps DCs increase density by as much as 50%. Their small frames and better maneuverability—especially the turret truck category—allow for improved stacking capabilities.

Along with reaching new heights and lifting capacities, the latest crop of narrow aisle trucks provides operators with more visibility. Yale’s newest narrow aisle reach truck features a wide mast opening that provides 33% better visibility. Increased visibility improves productivity and safety. Visibility cameras are becoming more common on trucks, too, upping the safety quotient.

Truck design comes with more than functionality in mind today, too. With labor in short supply, DCs look for all the ways they can recruit and retain employees. Narrow aisle trucks that come with ergonomics and comfort in mind can sometimes be selling points.

New features in this arena include things like touch displays, arm and back rests, and easy on/off in the case of stand-up trucks. Yale has recently added a suspended floor system, which amounts to less shock and vibration for the operator. “Every feature has the 21st Century operator in mind,” says Hess.

In the case of expensive cold storage, this means providing operators with warmth. Heated cabs that allow operators to remain on the job with fewer breaks are helping DCs keep up with demands.

Technology, robotics and more

According to Paul Short, president of Combilift North America, many customers are on the hunt for increased automation in conjunction with their narrow aisle trucks. “Automation is great, but we recommend optimizing configurations before automating,” he says.

That said, many technological advances are increasingly helpful when looking at narrow aisle trucks. “An increasing trend is the use of semi-automation,” says Brunnet. “We call this Warehouse Navigation, and it uses RFID transponders embedded in the floor to precisely identify aisle locations and distances.”

The result of a solution like this is that DCs have tools to calculate the fastest, most efficient route to rack locations. Brunnet estimates that about 40% of customers request the feature.

Demand for lithium-battery powered trucks is also on the rise. Short estimates that demand for lithium has increased from about 2% or 3% to 15% or 20% in the past couple of years, and for good reason. “Lithium gives you fast charge times and long run times,” he says, “and there’s zero battery maintenance required.”

Any features that minimize maintenance today are welcomed, too, as DCs have fewer man hours to dedicate to it. “We interviewed operators and maintenance staff to find out what they needed to be more productive,” says Hess. “They want ease of serviceability, improvements to access compartments, and ease of mast adjustments. Anything that can help to make the last hour as productive as the first.”

Autonomous trucks are also becoming more popular. “Automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) can help reduce operator costs by automating repetitive operations, which frees up operators’ time, allowing them to focus on more value-added tasks,” explains Brunnet. “The pandemic has accelerated demands as fewer workers are on the premises, missing shifts due to illness.”

Hess says Yale sees big interest in autonomous vehicles. “Most companies are looking to see if robotics are a good fit,” he says.

With a variety of racking and configurations, features and capacities, odds are most DCs work with a variety of narrow aisle trucks on their floors. This is what Crown sees, says Grote. “Rarely do we sell only one style of narrow aisle to a customer,” he explains. “Usually it’s a complement of narrow and very narrow aisle trucks to serve all their needs.”

The latest iterations of narrow aisle lift trucks bring plenty of bells and whistles to the table for increasing efficiencies in today’s high-density distribution centers. But all of the truck providers emphasize that trucks for trucks’ sake won’t get you where you need to be. Instead, relying on lift truck suppliers as partners in design and operations is critical.

“Our engineers work closely with customers to use their existing infrastructure for an optimal layout,” says Short. “We design the concepts, get them to the customers, and work from there.”