container transport
Page 23
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and freight handling
by David Lowe Fork-truck training for drivers
• A £20,000 training school for fork-lift truck drivers has been established by Lansing Bagnall Ltd, at Hook, Hampshire.
Operated by a new company, Fork Truck Training Ltd, the school has 14,000 sq ft of covered area in which four instructors. can train 16 pupils in the basic techniques followed up by practice in a pallet-racking area. Wooden and metal pallets are used for practice and a simulated loading deck for training in loading and off-loading is included. An aisle height of 19ft 6in, facilitates instruction in high-level stacking. A lecture theatre is also provided.
The four principal objectives of the training programme are:-- 1) To ensure safe operation of trucks from the operator's point of view and with regard to other personnel working near moving trucks.
2) To reduce damage to materials caused by mishandling and to save the cost of scrapping damaged goods.
3) To minimize truck down-time caused by incorrect operating procedures and other abuse.
4) To improve the speed of operation and thus gain increased productivity.
Three operators' courses are offered of one, two-and-a-half and five days duration. The instructors' course lasts five days and the supervisors' 21 days. Starting date is today.
Low-cost gantry crane
• A new, low-cost container-handling gantry crane has been developed by mechanical handling specialist G. Hunter (London) Ltd. to meet the growing need for such eouipment at container terminals.
The unit is controlled from one multiple. push-button console, attached to one of the gantry vertical supports. Under working conditions the 6-ton gantry crane can be operated by two men, one controlling the lateral and vertical movement of the container from the push-button console, second man
acting as a guide and assisting with fixing and removal of wheels from the container.
The positioning of the control site on the side of the gantry leg enables the operator to view almost the whole extent of his side of the container and part of the upper gantry structure.
Other safety features include:
11 An automatic cut-out .which prevents the container from making contact with the gantry structure.
2) A means by which, in the event of a power failure, the container is held securely and cannot be released until power is restored.
Many containers, whether full or unladen. are often out of balance and this creates a handling problem. The new Hunter gantry crane has overcome this through the use of two lifting units, one at each end of the gantry. These .can either be operated separately from the control console to steady an unbalanced container, or worked in tandem.
270-variant industrial trailer range
• Mafi ILIK) Ltd is to manufacture at Mansfield a range of industrial drawbar trailers for carrying loads from 1 to 200 tons. The range, covering 270 variants, is to be available on short-term delivery. I forecast this announcement on July 31.
Special high-capacity transporters for loads of up to 1000 tons will be built to existing designs to order.
The general construction of the trailers is to be of sectional steel chassis and trussing. Pivoting bogie suspension will be fitted to the smaller models and all-wheel steering on the high-capacity models for greater manoeuvrability in confined spaces. Optional suspension systems will be available for, maximum distribution of floor loading. Decked platforms or skeletal construction will be offered as a choice on all standard models. Tyres will be made of wirereinforced hardened rubber, hydraulically pressed onto Mafi's own wheels.