Choosing Between Electric Forklifts vs. Propane Forklifts vs. Diesel Forklift

If you are trying to buy a forklift, this is one of the most significant dilemmas that you will come across. All three of these forklifts have their advantages. While the environment-friendly side of you would want you to buy an electric forklift or forklift hire, would it be worth it? Here is a look at what these three types of forklifts can do best (and what they cannot)

Electric forklifts

While comparing the three regarding the application, use and costs, electric forklifts are much popular because it doesn’t emit harmful gases and fumes and also doesn’t lead to noise pollution. It makes it a common choice for the food processing industries and healthcare sectors and other indoor areas and flat surfaces. It uses lead acid batteries that can work for 6-7 hours continuously in a shift of 8-9 hours. Though the initial purchase price can be high at times, it is much more efficient and cost-effective in the longer run.

LPG and Diesel Forklifts

Propane and LPG forklifts are internal combustion engines and use fuel to produce energy, therefore much more powerful. It can work continuously in one shift and usually requires one full tank of fuel (LPG or Gas). Compared to battery electric forklifts, these are most harmful and can make a fair bit of noise. The Diesel forklifts also work on the same theory and uses diesel to produce energy.

The noise and air pollution and burning of fuel is a big drawback and a major health hazard. Also, this makes it unsuitable for indoor use. As compared to LPG, Diesel is much cheaper and works as it’s a cheaper substitute. It has a longer engine life and also the total cost of ownership is lower compared to Propane.

The major pitfall with the LPG and diesel variants as compared to the electric forklifts is the need to buy fuel regularly. It can be quite costly in the longer run. There are high maintenance costs involved as well. The overall cost of ownership is also higher. Propane Forklifts are not commonly used in freezing temperatures as it causes problems with the engine and gets difficult to start. Even electric forklifts can cause damage to the battery and get stuck in freezing temperatures.

As far as the productivity is concerned, propane and diesel forklifts are stronger and powerful compared to the Electric Forklifts. Electric ones are slower, inconsistent and also take time-consuming as it takes more time to accelerate and lift objects. It is better for lighter weights. The diesel models are much more widely used these days as it’s cheap, with low maintenance costs involved and produces more driveline torque. The debate about whether diesel emissions are cleaner than the Propane ones still continues.

When trying to buy a forklift, the forklift’s use and its application needs to be the major deciding factor. Do not buy an electric forklift for outdoor use if you need something powerful and have quite a bit of work to be done.

How to increase productivity with Microsoft Word

If you find yourself using Microsoft word quite often, the chances are that you will appreciate discovering new tips on how to increase your productivity with Microsoft Word the worldwide leading program. According to experts, people who use Word only use 10% of the available features. The rest is untouched.

Tip number 1

There are instances when you’ll need to highlight a paragraph, a sentence or text in Word. Most people know how to do this using a mouse. But they could also hold the Ctrl key before clicking within the sentence they want to highlight.

If you click a paragraph thrice, the whole block will be highlighted. Also, if you hold the ALT key and click anywhere in your document, you will end up highlighting that area of text.

Tip number 2

The clipboard is regularly used for moving text/images. Nevertheless, the clipboard tool can increase your productivity when you take advantage of the Spike feature. The Spike feature provides a handy way to cut multiple texts and images before pasting them to a new location, all at once.

Also, you can select a paragraph of text and then hold CTRL+F3 to move that content into the Spike. You can do this as many times as you like. Every selection will be added into the spike as well. Finally, place the cursor where you want the Spike info while holding Ctrl+Shift+F3 so that everything can be pasted.

Tip number 3

When you open a long document you had previously saved on Microsoft Word; you can use Shift+F5 to jump immediately to where you had left. Also, pressing the two combinations of buttons severally will take you to all spots you had previously edited.

Tip number 4

This one is a killer technique that you must familiarise yourself with. Most of us get frustrated when they copy paste information from Microsoft Word to another program only for the formatting to disappear.

That niggling problem can be taken away using this strategy. If you’re using WordPress or some other web application, you will find it extremely useful.

In Word 2010/2013 versions, go to file, option, advanced. Then scroll down to cut>copy>paste. This feature lets you control how the text will appear in different scenarios.

Tip number 5

The Format Painter is a very useful tool in Microsoft Word. It looks like a paintbrush and is located in the clipboard area towards the left side of the screen.

This feature is used to copy the format of all text in word. For instance, if working with some highly coloured script and would like to work with that format in another document, position the cursor inside that text and then click the format painter.

Drag the mouse highlighting the text you want to apply the format to. Also, if you double-click the format painter, you will be able to apply that formatting in different areas.

Conclusion

Those tips will help you increase your productivity with Microsoft Word. Master them to work faster with the program. Of course it takes a little bit of getting used to some of the hidden features in Word. But the more frequent you utilise them, the more you grow accustomed to using them.

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Why Market Research Is So Important For A New Business

Most people starting a new business are excited about the possibility of the amount of profit they can make. The excitement and confidence are what drives the average entrepreneur to offer their product or service in the first place.

Like any other new venture, sometimes the emotion of starting a new business makes it difficult to be realistic about such mundane things as expenses and company budgets. That is why effective market research is so important. Since statistics show that most new businesses fail in the first years of operation, effective planning before starting a new business is essential.

What Can Market Research Tell You?

Marketing research can answer the following questions for a new business entrepreneur:

How many other businesses in my area are offering the same product or service I am?

Where is my target market?

What can I offer to my target market that is better or different than my competitors?

What advertising methods are the most successful, and how much do they cost?

What is the actual operating expense of running my business?

How long will it take before I can expect to make a profit?

It doesn’t matter whether you are starting a business in your local area or online, whether you will have an actual address or a virtual one. The above questions still need to be answered. How they are answered will tell you how much money you will need to invest in your business at the outset, what you will need to budget for advertising, materials, and operating expenses, and when your company should begin to turn a profit.

Marketing Changes Over Time

The best marketing presents a fluid approach. As time goes on, your business will have to adapt to changing marketing conditions with new strategies. Old advertising methods that are no longer working will have to be replaced by new approaches, and not every strategy is guaranteed to work in a changing market.

If you want your business to succeed where others have failed, and you want to see it grow, practical marketing research must be an integral part of your ongoing business plan.

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