It took only a standard demonstration of work-assist vehicles to convince the president of Southeast Records Service that its records management operations could be more efficient. The company supplies document storage for legal, medical, insurance, banking and manufacturing companies.

"All we had to do was compare current pick methods using a ladder to a pick with the vehicle, and we quickly realized we could save at least 50% in labor on every single pick," says Vernon Martell, Southeast Records president and owner. "It truly was a no brainer." Work-assist vehicles lift people instead of pallets, and replace ladders.

Files at Southeast Records are stored in boxes on racks and are inventoried and identified through a bar coded location identification system. Once the location was identified, retrieving documents previously involved finding a ladder, pushing it into position, climbing up, locating and removing a file, climbing back down the ladder with the file and walking the records to a workstation for copying or delivery to the customer.

Work-assist vehicles have changed much of that procedure. Rather than workers climbing ladders, they use the vehicle to lift them into position to access the file. The vehicle then lowers them down to the floor.

If workers need to retrieve more than one box, it can be done in one visit to the storage location, improving efficiency and customer service. In addition, the vehicle can be used to transport documents to a central copying machine if customers need duplicates.

"We've found the vehicle to be perfect for our application, continually pulling and putting away files," owner Don Keller says.

Work-assist vehicles are a good long-term investment as well, according to Southeast Records. Return on the investment came within 10 months due to labor savings. Furthermore, the replacement of ladders with the vehicles limits the potential for injury, trimming worker compensation claims.

"I've had bad experiences with ladders and it can be costly," Martell explains. "Injuries resulting from a fall from a ladder can easily exceed the cost of a work-assist vehicle."

But benefits of work-assist vehicles did not end there. The tight maneuverability of the vehicle enabled Southeast Records to convert a former tobacco warehouse into a storage area with 12-foot high rack. The vehicle's 25.9-inch wide footprint and zero turning radius minimizes aisle width while maximizing the number of storage aisles that fit into the facility.

"You also need to figure in vertical space savings as well as horizontal," Keller says. "All space in our industry is critical and affects a company's profitability." The vehicle allows workers to reach records on taller racks."

The work-assist vehicle is ideal for fast-growing records management and storage companies according to Martell. "It's a great fit for us and anyone in this type of business," he concludes.