Truck attachment

There are an enormous variety of attachments and options available for lift trucks. While most attachments are designed for use on standard lift trucks, some of them are also used on reach trucks and VNA trucks. It's important to note that OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requires that for any forklift attachment used, there must be an approval for use by the specific lift truck manufacturer. This regulation requires the buyer to go through the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacture) dealer for the purchase and installation of the attachment.

Forks are the most common attachment; they're not always the best solution for every application. In pursuit of higher productivity, less product damage and reduced worker injuries, many loads require an attachment other than a fork – clamps and push/pull units, for instance. And even if forks are the tool of choice, attachments such as side shifters and fork positioners are valuable aids for improving load handling.

Attachments also allow users to reach to higher heights, to reach further out and to move heavier loads than could be moved manually. Attachments, when applied properly on a lift truck, substantially increase the amount of work that can get accomplished in the course of a day.

Additionally, attachments protect operators from ergonomic stress by keeping them on the seat of the truck rather than lifting, pulling or tugging loads that couldn't be moved with conventional forks.

Note that most attachments will change the capacity of the lift truck and a new placard should be placed on the truck showing the new specs

Below I will list some of the more common types of attachments.

Side shift
This is the most common attachment today the side shifter operates with a standard pair of forks. Operators can reposition the forks (allows the fork carriage to slide left and right) rather than reposition the truck by maneuvering it repeatedly in forward and reverse. This allows more accurate placement of the load as the forks or other attachment to be shifted by about 75MM. Side shifts will increase productivity and safety as well as reduce product damage by allowing the operator more flexibility in load placement. Side shifters are available as both single and double units, capable of handling one or two pallets at the same time

Fork positioner

With the variety of pallet dimensions out there, each with different pallet notch spacings, it would be impractical to have multiple lift trucks designated to handle each size. It would also be a very timely undertaking for an operator to have to climb down from the cab and manually adjust the fork spacing before every pick up.
Fork positioners, usually hydraulic-powered, are a solution. This device automatically adjusts the distance between the forks to handle an infinite number of pallet sizes, without the operator ever leaving the seat of the truck. In addition to the time savings, fork positioners also reduce the potential for back injuries or pinched fingers that could result from manual adjustments. Used primarily in high volume operations where there is a great variety of pallet and crate sizes handled.

Clamps
These are operated from the fork truck hydraulic system with movable and sometimes shaped arms for handling cartons, bales, reels and drums. Clamp attachments literally clamp opposing sides of a load, applying a sufficient amount of pressure to lift the load in a controlled manner without crushing or dropping it. Used in a range of applications, clamps handle loads that simply aren't transportable by pallet.

There are two types of clamp mentioned here, they are:

Carton clamp
Flat surface carton clamps are often used in the appliance industry to move high-bulk, low-weight items like refrigerators, washers, dryers, ovens, dishwashers and more. They're also used to move unit loads of beverages stacked without slip sheets or pallets.

Paper-roll clamp

Concave surface paper roll clamps designed specifically for the handling of large paper rolls. usually used in the paper and printing industries to move large rolls of paper throughout a facility. Clamps are also used to position rolls on equipment that converts raw paper into consumer goods like paper towels, toilet paper and tissues. the paper roll clamp clamps around the roll and also allows for a full 360 degree rotation

Load Push/pull units
Push/pull attachments work with loads on cardboard or plastic slip-sheets with a lip. The attachment clamps on to the lip and pulls the load onto a set of wide, low profile forks for transport.Once the load reaches its destination in the warehouse or on the trailer, it is then pushed off the forks by the attachment. They are most often used in situations where a facility has elected to eliminate pallet usage to cut costs. These attachments are also often found in food-processing applications, where users have replaced pallets with slip sheets for hygienic and sanitary reasons.

Multiple pallet handlers
Multiple pallet handlers can double or triple lift truck productivity by adding a second or third pair of forks to the truck. Some attachments handle loads that are two pallets deep.
By allowing operators to pick up more than one load at a time side by side, a greater number of pallets can be transported throughout the day. Multiple pallet handlers are most frequently found in high-volume operations such as beverage and food handling.
These attachments do present some limitations in horizontal clearance, limiting their access to certain aisles or other areas. However, some models feature retractable forks that permit single load handling and can travel through narrow aisles and doorways.

Rotating head
This device helps to change the orientation of a load, eg, a reel which is delivered horizontally and is needed to be stack vertically.

Rotators
This attachment features forks mounted on a rotating apron that turns anywhere from 180 to 360 degrees. Rotators are most often used in operations where bulk bins or containers store and transport large volumes of small items. Once the truck has delivered the bin to its destination, the rotator turns to dump the contents out into another hopper or processing station.
These attachments are used extensively in scrap metal applications. Other uses include food and wine processing. Rotators are part of the sorting and production process as bins of fruits and vegetables are received from the fields and then poured into processing equipment.

Drum handling attachments

There are a lot of different designs for attachment used to handle 55 gallon drums. Some are smaller versions of a paper roll clamp while others may engage the upper rim of the drum, or the lower rings. Some drum attachments are capable of picking up multiple drums at the same time.

Prongs

A Prong is a specialized rod type attachment used for picking up rolls of materials such as carpet rolls, wire and cable spools, and rolled steel, by inserting the prong into the center of the spool.

Fork extensions

Fork extensions slide over the existing forks on the truck to allow you to pick up longer loads.
Height selector. A height selector is an option that allows you to preset certain fork heights to correspond with rack levels. This option is most commonly used on reach trucks working at heights above 20 ft.

Tilt control

Tilt control allows you to preset fork tilt angles.
Fork pivot. Allows the forks and carriage to pivot (rotate). Used for transporting and dumping specially designed hoppers.

Slip sheet atachment

Slip sheet attachments are used where slip sheets (a sheet of cardboard, paperboard, or plastic) are used rather than pallets. The slip sheet attachments has a push/pull mechanism that clamps onto the slip sheet and pulls the load onto a thin platform and then pushes the load off of the platform when the truck reaches the destination.

Latest trend
For the future of lift truck attachments, suppliers are working to develop higher levels of monitoring attachment use through bar coding and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. "These technologies provide opportunities to embed information such as the clamp forces required to handle a product safely without overclamping and crushing the load," explains Mike Kern, vice president of MHP marketing and sales at Cascade Corporation." Even though operators have attachments now, they don't always know when it's appropriate to change from one setting to another. This technology makes it easier for the user not to have to make a determination and it helps to increase productivity.

For more information, please visit these sites:

OSHA: http://www.osha.gov/

OEM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_equipment_manufacturer