Editor’s Note: In this week’s featured article, we are going to be “kicking it old school” by taking a look at a handful of simple, low-tech tools that provide more productivity than other complicated high-tech devices that cost exponentially more.
Companies that produce materials handling products are always trying to outshine each other with the latest high-tech gadgets that promise to make our lives easier. But a handful of essential low-tech or even “no-tech” products are still an important part of just about every workplace.
When it comes to transporting materials, some businesses can spend a fortune on the latest heavy-duty forklifts equipped with the latest on-board computer technology. Other companies choose to install complicated, cutting-edge driverless systems — such as automated guided vehicles (AGVs) — to move products and raw materials from one place to another.
The Good, Old-Fashioned Two-Wheeler
But it’s hard to top the simplicity and ease of using a basic two-wheeler hand truck for quick and easy jobs. There’s not much to it: Just a couple of cross bars, a lifting plate and a pair of wheels.
Yet the hand truck is so simple to use that anybody can get the gist of how to use it in just a couple of minutes. It uses the power of balance to simply and effectively move boxes and stacks of products short distances quickly and easily.
Just tip, slide and tilt. That’s about as low-tech as it gets.
Another old school product is the heavy-duty shop cart. It’s just four wheels, a handle and a maybe a surface or two. Yet it can be used to move packages, materials or anything else you can think of with very little effort.
Here’s the reason these basic types of helpful products have never gone out of style: Not only can they be used by anybody to move practically anything, but they can take a beating and rarely, if ever, break down.
There are hand trucks and shop carts that are still on the job and used every day after years of service. And unlike AGVs, “smart” forklifts and other 21st Century high tech gadgets that suck power and have a lot of moving parts that can break down, old-school tools require no power supply, no maintenance and very little upkeep.
The Basics that Everybody Needs
Ladders are another piece of equipment that will never go out of style. This is a a technology that hasn’t changed in literally thousands of years when Mongol warriors first used them as siege tools. Yet ladders remain an essential part of any work place. Sure, you can find extension ladders and other variations on the original design, but the basic concept remains the same: A series of steps held together by a couple of risers. That’s it.
Here are a few other low-tech products that are essentially universal:
- Chocks — A big block of wood or rubber is still the best method of preventing a trailer or truck from rolling backyard as you are loading or unloading it.
- Brooms — They require no fuel, no batteries and no maintenance. Yet they are essential for keeping any dock, warehouse or work area clean.
- Pallets — Sure, there are variations in the materials they are made out of and even in size, but the basic concept remains the same: A platform you can grab and lift with a forklift, hand jack or power lift.
- Mirrors — Reflective surfaces that let you see when traffic is coming. What a concept.
You get the picture.
Despite today’s fast-paced work environments where companies are always looking for ways to get things done faster, cheaper and more efficiently, it’s the lowest tech items that have been around the longest that provide the backbone for everything else.