Library
Newsletters - Access our archive of newsletters on material handling approaches.
Material Handling Videos - Tight aisles, unique loads... View videos featuring different approaches for moving dunnage ergonomically.
Lean Material Handling Whitepapers - Case studies and ROI examples of how lean material handling has helped organizations.
Other Resources
Tugger and Cart System Are Green Approach to In-Plant Natural Transport 
A tugger and cart system offers an alternative to in-plant transport from the traditional forklift method. While this approach is safer for employees, it also offers a green approach to implementing lean material flow. Learn more about the 10 things everyone should know about tuggers and industrial carts.
Liberty Mutual Material Handling Tables
View Material Handling Tables 
Liberty Mutual has performed testing and created guidelines for safe material handling configurations based on the individual person's size and stature. The tables provide both the male and female population percentages capable of performing manual material handling tasks without over exertion. It can be used to perform ergonomic assessments of lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, and carrying tasks with the primary goal of supporting ergonomic design interventions.
Not All Industrial Carts Are Equal  The design of the features and the materials used distinguish industrial carts. This attention to detail is what makes a K-Tec cart truly functional and versatile in lean manufacturing. Download this guide which compares the purpose of various features on an industrial cart.
Warehouse / DC Carts & Trailers  Efficient movement of stock within a warehouse is the key to productivity. This application guide reviews lean manufacturing in a warehouse environment and the role of the industrial cart.
Considerations for Going Forklift Free ...view .pdf
Summer 2007 Building a forklift free program requires a significant amount of planning. Macro issues such as personnel, parts presentation and logistics need to be evaluated and adjusted to accomodate a material handling process which limits forklift use to red zones. This article steps through the organizational issues which need to be addressed before starting a program. ...back to the top
Fork Free...view .pdf Twin Plant News - Mexico's Industrial Magazine
July 2007 More companies are mandating the move to forklift free production floors. Issues such as safety, reduced forklift maintenance costs and efficiency are driving the movement. Justifying forklift free can be a challenge which is further addressed in this article. ...back to the top
Materials Handling Strategies: A Fork-Free Future?...view .pdf file (297 kb)
By Rachel Gecker
Inbound Logistics, Dec. 2004
While forklift trucks may be the tried and true solution for many materials handling operations, forklift-free applications are attempting to shake up manufacturing with the emergence of carts and dollies. Thinking of going forklift-free? Make sure you have all the facts before jumping in. Read entire article from inboundlogistics.com
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Roll the Drum...view .pdf Compoundings Magazine
July 2007 "No forklifts on production floors!" Will this manufacturing trend also impact the petrochemical industry? A combination of drum carts and tuggers provides a lean manufacturing approach to moving drums. ...back to the top
Is Forklift Free for the Fastner Industry?...view .pdf The Distributor's Link
June 2007 What is driving the change in some manufacturing environments to embrace forklift free? Will this change impact the fastner industry?
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Parts, Carts, and Appliance Assembly ...view .pdf (47kb)
Assembly Magazine
John Sprovieri
August 2006
The Whirlpool Horizon is touted as one of the most efficient clothes dryers on the market. Coincidentally, the factory where the dryers are assembled is amoung the most efficient in the appliance industry. K-Tec industrial carts played a role in the transition of the Whirlpool plant to lean operations and forklift free.
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Flexibility Fuels Ford Facility...view .pdf file (216 kb)
By John Sprovieri / Senior Editor
Assembly Magazine, Dec. 01, 2004
Steve Orr laughs when he refers to the “Dark Side” of Ford Motor Co.’s Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1. And the space leftover? Well, that’s the Dark Side. “Before, we’d build a line, and it could just do one engine,” explains Orr. “Now, we can build six different engine models on the same line. We can go from a six-cylinder engine to an eight-cylinder engine or whatever. It’s pretty neat.” More than 800 employees now work at the facility, and the plant is expected to assemble 325,000 engines per year at full production. The plant’s sister facility, Cleveland Engine Plant No. 2, won the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing in 1996. Combined, the two plants can produce more than 1 million engines annually. Forklift-free material handling system keeps engine plant flexible...
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