Transport Equipment – Industrial Trucks

Below is an example of industrial trucks used in a warehouse.

Counter-balance forklift trucks (CBFT)

Figure left and right shows the sit-down counter-balanced forklift and stand-up counter-balanced forklift respectively.

Two versions of counter-balanced forklift trucks are built to satisfy the demand of the operators. These trucks are the workhorses of the industry and they are indispensable in a warehouse. This is a general-purpose truck with at load capacity of 2,500 to 12,000 lbs. lifting heights range from 16 ft. to 18 ft.
Advantage of its low height is to enables it to drive into trailers and containers to store and retrieve goods. Different series of counter-balance forklift trucks are available to provide higher productive and higher capacity applicable in different areas.

Sit-down and stand-up have almost the same functions. Only difference is that sit-up counter-balanced forklift allows for easy driver entry and exit for ancillary operations such as scanning of bar-code label.

Accidents can take place anytime at anywhere in the warehouse. Below is one portion of an article taken from the internet that shows how miscommunication can lead to misfortune.

Forklift driver killed in warehouse accident

Metro News

SAEED AHMED
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A miscommunication between workers at a Cobb County warehouse led to the accidental death of a forklift truck driver Thursday morning, police said.

Shannon Lee Griffith, 32, of Dallas was loading a semitrailer truck at the Atlanta Bonded Warehouse on Cobb Industrial Boulevard when the truck driver pulled away from the dock, police said.

The driver had been told to move the trailer because he apparently was at the wrong door, Kennesaw police Officer Scott Luther said. Not knowing that Griffith was still loading, the driver pulled forward while half of Griffith's forklift was on the dock plate and the other half was on the truck. The forklift fell about three or four feet to the ground, pinning Griffith against a wall, Luther said. That's how police found him when they were called to the scene shortly before 9 a.m. The victim died of severe head trauma, police said. Luther did not know what Griffith was loading at the time of the accident, but the company's Web site lists it as storage and handling facility for confectionaries.

Therefore, it is important to be alert in the warehouse.

Below are just some of the main points for us to keep in mind while handling manual and powered pallet trucks.

-You must give right-of-way to emergency vehicles.

-Keep a clear view of the direction of travel (staying within the running lines of the vehicle). If the load blocks your view, drive with the load trailing.

-Operate in designated powered industrial truck routes.

-Keep aisles clear.

-No eating, drinking, or smoking while driving.

-Maintain control of vehicle at all times.

-No horseplay or stunt driving.

-Avoid overloading truck

-THINK and ACT SAFELY

Also, a recent article, Reed Business Information, has reported that a new Class 3 pallet truck will be available in the U.S. market in early 2008. The new pallet truck, part of Jungheinrich’s EJE series, features a redesigned chassis and a tight turning radius for easier trailer loading. The company has invested heavily in redesigning its two German production facilities in an effort to reduce lead times for its trucks.

Thus continuous evaluating of existence equipments is important to ensure safer and efficient equipments can be produced.

Transport Equipment - Cranes

Cranes are used to move materials over variable paths within a restricted area

Gantry crane
A gantry crane is very similar to a bridge crane but unlike bridge crane which emphasizes on utilizing overhead space, gantry crane is making so that they can be move around easily.

-3 main types of granty crane

- single leg, double leg and the mobile type

- for single leg and double leg, they are rooted to the ground

- mobile type can be moved around compares to bridge cranes

-gantry cranes takes up less space

-is also cheaper than a bridge crane

-could be use either indoor or outdoor

-different sizes and models are available to suit different needs and situation

-height can be adjusted and could be made from lots of materials

(e.g. aluminum so that it will not be affected during wet condition)

Jib cranes

Jib cranes are one of the most commonly use crane in the industrial, there are basically 2 main types wall-mounted and floor mounted.

-wall mounted cranes allow up to 220 degrees rotation

-floor mounted allows 360 degrees turn

-for the transferring of heavy loads and for positioning purpose

-hoist attached to the arm allows more precise positioning

-assist in the movement of load ranging from 100lbs. to 30000lbs

-are operated manually by the crews

-also have an advantage to be used indoor and outdoor

-price of the jib crane is much cheaper than other cranes

-many other different models to choose from

-usually more than 1 jib cranes will be use at construction site for higher efficiency

Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility

Safety Instructions

-Do not lift people and never ride the hoisting load.

-Make sure the sling is well balanced.

-Avoid tip loading, and loading on hook latch.

-Never be used to drag or pull a load

-Never lift the load over the rated capacity.

-Clearly inspect the entire proposed path of the crane

-Paying particular attention to overhead obstacles

-Do not operate with kinked, twisted or damaged chain.

-Avoid side pull or end pull, and quick reversal operations.

-Make sure you take up slack slowly.

-No one is to ride the crane without permission.

-No obstructions while lifting or traveling

- Loads should be well secured

Everyone plays a role in crane safety – management, supervisors and employees. Safe crane operations depend on teamwork and careful planning, supervision, training and maintenance.

Crane Owner
· Identifies and assigns specific responsibilities for equipment, lift supervision and crane maintenance and operation.

· Understand the requirements of every job and provide the appropriate equipment and personnel to complete the job in a safe, efficient manner, according to applicable standards and regulations.

· Ensure that all personnel involved in maintaining, repairing, transporting, preparing and operating the equipment are experienced and well trained to handle their specific jobs.

Equipment Supervisor
-Selects a suitable crane to meet the job requirements

-Makes sure that competent worker is available for the project and that all cranes are properly equipped.

-Implements a maintenance and inspection program for the crane

-Also ensures that the weight and capacity are clearly marked on any parts or accessories of the crane that affect load handling.

-Makes certain a qualified employee operates the crane and understands all aspects of the load chart as it applies to the crane.

Lift Supervisor
-Supervises all aspects of the job, from machine location to the actual lift.

-Determines the correct weight of the load and the operating radius and shares this information with the operator.

-Ensuring that the load is properly rigged.

-Designates qualified signalers and provides this information to the operator.

-Keep workers clear of the crane during operation, control the movement of personnel in the lift area

-Oversee safety precautions when the lift is in the vicinity of power lines.

Operator
-Before operating equipment, the operator must perform an inspection to make certain that the equipment is in proper working order.

-This includes brakes and clutches, wire ropes, hydraulic circuits and controls.

-Should have a Checklist to address the inspection in a consistent, thorough manner.

However, each crane operator should be held direct responsible for the safe operation of the crane or hoist. Operator should stop the crane and refuse to handle loads whenever there is any doubt during their operating process. Safety rules and guidance should be also be applied to all operations that involve the use of cranes and hoists installed in or attached to buildings and to all employees, supplemental labor, and subcontractor personnel who use such devices.

Beside the carelessness of operators that result in accidents, weather too can cause accident to happen. Below is a picture showing Gantry Crane from the Port of Pusan in Korea. Damage was caused by a severe storm.

Selecting a suitable crane is also as important as ensuring the safety of workers.
Some of the Selection Criteria are:
• Weights and measures of the heaviest and largest loads.
• Maximum lift height.
• Maximum lift radius.
• Number of lifts.
• Precision placement of loads, including whether or not loads have to be walked or carried.
• Tackle and rigging equipment needed for the safe working load.
• Stability of the ground to support the weight of the crane.