Hand Trucks & Trolleys: Types, Uses and Benefits

There’s nothing more important to any business than its employees. If the employees are happy, their productivity will significantly increase and that can help your business grow. Making small changes to habits can improve the levels of productivity and efficiency in your work field. Using manual labour may lead to injuries and fatalities of workers and that’s certainly not a healthy work environment. Manual handling aids, such as hand trucks and trolleys are important tools in helping to reduce hazardous tasks.  

Hand trucks and trolleys in the workplace are used to transport and carry heavy loads. When using a trolley, pushing is recommended over pulling. When pulling equipment your feet may be run over or toes squashed while pulling backwards can cause other hazards such as tripping and falling. When selecting a hand truck, cart or trolley it’s important to consider the actual workplace environment and the workspace areas where manual handling tasks are required to be undertaken. 

Storage and ease of transport should be considered as well to ensure a successful and safe work outcome. Also, floor conditions should be investigated as the construction and quality of the floor can impact on the push or pull effort required to move the load. You can find trolleys and hand trucks for sale, but make sure to carefully assess their load characteristics before buying.

You can choose from a range of hand trucks and trolleys of various constructions, such as stainless steel, aluminium, chrome and more. Aluminium trolleys are light in weight but tough, while stainless steel trolleys models are most often used in the hospitality industry and food service applications. The following are some of the most commonly used types of hand trucks and trolleys and their use. 

Different Types of Trolleys and Their Use 

Industrial Trolleys 

Industrial carts and industrial-grade trolleys include platform trolleys and service/utility carts for foodservice and catering applications.  

Cage Trolleys 

A cage trolley provides additional security when transporting material as the metal lining gives gull side protection and the items stay in place during transport. You can choose from one platformed cages pushcarts to multi-levelled caged hand trucks and more.  

Powered Trolleys 

This type of trolleys provides a safe solution for many workplace problems. Powered trolleys are an ideal solution in workplaces that require moving heavy loads over extended distances. For moving larger and heavier objects, you can get pedestrian powered tow tugs as well. 

Office Trolleys 

Office trolleys are available in various designs and can help with moving lightweight items such as files and mail, but can be used for moving large and heavy items as well. 

Foldable Trolleys 

For transporting materials regularly, a folding trolley is an ideal option. Its folding capability can help users lessen its dimensions to fit in a car, compartment, truck or a storage area. 

Multi-Purpose Trolleys 

Moving around large items can be much easier with a standard trolley, but when it comes to smaller items balancing them on a platform trolley can be an issue, especially if working on uneven flooring. The multi-purpose trolley can be 2 or even 3 layered and can help with fast restocking as well as retail purposes.

Platform Trolleys 

Also known as no handle dollies, this type of trolleys can be used to carry heavy cargo. It allows users to move large material with no restriction of a handle. Very often this type of trolleys is used for moving furniture.  

Utility Carts 

Warehouses sometimes work with heavy and tall material, bigger than a standard box. An upright hand truck or also referred to as specialty hand truck is the ultimate material handling equipment. It’s designed to move less weight compared to standard push trolleys.  

Appliance Trolleys 

This type of trolleys is mainly used for moving furniture and carrying delicate but heavy and bulky appliances like a refrigerator, as well as carrying lighter or empty boxes.  

Benefits of Using Hand Trucks and Trolleys 

Choosing the right equipment for your material is an important decision and can offer you ease and convenience in the daily activities at your workplace. You can choose from different trolleys, carts and hand trucks for sale, specially designed hand trucks and trolleysfor functionality and suitable for use in various applications.  

If you’re dealing with a small warehouse or office, you’ll most probably appreciate trolleys and hand trucks as they’re easy to manoeuvre in corridors. Apart from it, here are some other benefits their use can bring to your working environment. 

Safety 

Manual lifting and carrying of heavy objects can lead to some of the most common work-related injuries such as sprains, chronic joint or musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The usage of trolleys and hand trucks in working areas where loads are pushed or pulled reduces the chances of such injuries. 

Protection 

Trolleys and hand trucks offer various types of protection. Trolleys with wired sides protect irregularly-shaped objects, while office trolleys can protect legal documents and other files from theft or wet weather. In the hospitality and foodservice industry, hand trucks are convenient for the safe transport of items such as beer kegs, gas cylinders and more.  

Flexibility 

Trolleys and hand trucks are designed to fit easily in lifts and some come with foot brakes and removable wheels as well.  

Productivity 

The usage of trolleys can significantly reduce the number of trips needed to transport equipment and documents. In warehouses, quick order fulfilment is important and trolleys and hand trucks can provide faster and efficient results. Moreover, trolleys and carts improve the overall workflow.