With SKUs multiplying and warehouses and distribution centers trying to keep expansion in check, racking is getting higher. Putaway and picking in this environment are jobs for operator-up order pickers. 

Here's a Top 10 list to help you maintain peak performance.

1. Ensure proper operator training. That means obeying all warnings, cautions and instructions in the operator manual and on the order picker. Training must be site- and vehicle-specific. Pay special attention to training on the controls. A joystick could have multiple functions. Learning to feather these controls will result in smoother, continuous, more productive movement.
2. A daily checklist should include visual and operational inspection of the battery, wheels and tires, lift-lower system, control handles, steering, horn, deadman pedal and more. You should also establish a pre-operational checklist—completed by every operator who takes charge of the vehicle during the course of a day.
3. Operators should report any malfunction or unsafe condition and not operate the order picker until it is repaired.
4. Guarantee proper fall protection. This is usually a full-body harness with a fixed-length or retractable tether. The harness must be securely fastened to the operator's torso. For best safety, each operator should have his or her own, to accommodate their frame. The harness must be securely fastened to the tether and the tether securely fastened to the designated tie-off point on the machine. Also, teach the operator how to fall if they should have an accident. They should never fall away from the unit or they could pull the vehicle over and on top of them.
5. Do not overload the order picker or handle unstable or loosely stacked loads. This may cause the load to shift, resulting in a tip-over.
6. Elevate the operator platform for order picking only, watching for overhead obstructions. Avoid making turns while the platform is elevated with a load.
7. Consider installing lights and fans on the order picker. Lighting levels are generally good near the warehouse ceiling, but diminish considerably at the floor. Fans help keep the operator comfortable at higher elevations.
8. Consider wire guidance. It allows higher travel speeds, thus increasing the number of picks per shift. It also enables you to decrease the aisle width to only 10 inches wider than the order picker, thus enabling extra storage capacity.
9. Consider forward and reverse motion alarms for operations with wider aisles where there may also be pedestrian traffic. These would warn people when the vehicle travels.
10. If a pallet is used, make sure the order-picking vehicle's alligator clamp securely engages the center stringer so the pallet won't move forward if stepped on. The pallet should be in good repair, double-faced with a center stringer and should not contain undersized stringers or boards.

Information for this column was contributed by Susan Comfort, director of order picker and very narrow aisle products at The Raymond Corporation and Jim Shephard, president of Shephard's Industrial Training Systems.