QUICKER LOAD HANDLINC
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F0 BEAT THE BANS By P. AA..m.Ci.m. echBr.oEckington, SPEED in loading and unloading is irr everyone's interest. When goods have to be handled on the public highway, the matter assumes particular topical importance. In an effort to share out road space equitably between the competing classes of user, local authorities are inclining towards restrictions on waiting to load and unload goods vehicles. If commercial vehicle operators can stow that they are taking practical steps to reduce to a minimum the period spent in waiting outside business premises, they not only have a good case against restrictions, but are also assisting traffic flow and helping to remove the need for waiting bans.
In suitable cases, simple mechanical devices fitted to 'vehicles can do much to speed up load handling. They would probably be more widely used but for the stupid 20 m.p.h. limit for heavy goods vehicles, which has a deleterious effect in so many unexpected ways. Mechanical-handling equipment would raise the unladen weight of many delivery vehicles above 3 tons and reduce the maximum permissible speed by 10 m.p.h.—a strong deterrent to more efficient load handling. In the experience of many operators, however, this disadvantage is more than offset by the gains provided, and others employ lighter vehicles to which a loader can be fitted without raising the unladen weight above the critical limit
Notable among the latter operators are Shell-Mex and B.P., Ltd., who run 48 Austin petrol-engined 3-ton platform vehicles; equipped with tailboard loaders, to which a further 29 vehicles of similar type will soon be added. The lorries serve customers from 70 depots throughout the country, and enable the drivers to be independent of other labour when unloading, which formerly required two men.
Damage to barrels and smaller packages, including defacing of the stencilling, is virtually eliminated. On 46
the average, a vehicle makes 15 to 20 drops a day during one or more delivery runs in a radius of about 20 miles. In some cases upwards of four departments of one company are visited for separate drops.
The choice of Burtonwood tailboard loaders for the majority of these vehicles was determined by their low weight and the ease of converting them into trolleys, which are regularly employed to transfer packages to distant parts of customers' premises. The hydraulic ram of the loader is housed in the chassis and operates the tailboard through a system of cables and pulleys. The loader is available for hand or power operation, with lifting capacities of 10 cwt. and 1 ton, and a side loader is produced with similar essential features. The smaller model weighs 4 cwt.
A feature of the Anthony tailboard loader is that the ram is connected directly to a series of tubular lifting arms, a system of links maintaining the board in a level position when loading. The arms and links are designed to give maximum support to the load and to ensure smooth operation. Safety latches, which automatically provide support for the loader at truck-floor level, are actuated by a separate lever.
Before Joseph Batson and Co. (Tipton), Ltd., lubricant blenders, of Tipton, Staffs, equipped a Guy Otter 6-tonner with a Mackaness Onrol hydraulic loader, the 40-gal. barrels, delivered locally, were frequently damaged and time was often wasted when unloading because extra labour was not available. Previously the barrels were rolled down inclined skids onto an old tyre or pile of sacking, and the incidence of denting and splitting was alarming. To repair a barrel costs £2, and the value of the contents varies from £5 to £150, so that the financial loss from damage was extremely serious.
The lifting cradle of the Onrol loader is specially shaped to receive a large barrel, and the device is equipped with a control chain which automatically actuates the lift gear when the barrel approaches the end of the cradle and releases the valve when the barrel is removed to the lorry floor. The cradle is then returned by gravity to ground-level, and one man can load and unload more quickly than two men with the aid of skids.
At the Batson depot a Neal oil-engined mobile crane with a lifting capacity of 15 cwt. enables barrels to be stacked four high on the ground, instead of two high when they were man-handled. It is a valuable aid to speeding-up internal movement, vehicle loading and so on, as well as saving valuable storage space. To meet the specific requirements of the company, the makers evolved a special two-position mast to permit entry into low doorways without sacrificing the maximum lifting height of 20 ft.
Barrels are normally difficult to handle and slow delivery may aggravate congestion in busy streets. Existing loaders or types specially developed for handling beer barrels and so on would undoubtedly be a great boon.
Mackaness are, perhaps; best known for their Shoulderhi sack lifters, developed specifically for farm collections and deliveries. Figures supplied by the company and confirmed by users show that consignments of 21-cwt. sacks can be unloaded by half the labour force in a third of the time required when performed entirely by physical effort. The value of the device has been increased by the general shortage of farm labour, because "looking for help" is often a lengthy business.
The loader weighs under 6 cwt. and it can lift 3-cwt. sacks.
Developed from the Shoulderhi, the Mackaness Vertiswing has a stirrup-type cradle which remains vertical when the load is lifted and prevents spillage from open sacks, containers and so on that must not be tilted. The most recent development is the Shovelhi, actuated by hydraulic equipment similar to that fitted to
the other models. It is designed to facilitate the loading of bulk materials, such as sand, gravel, and many other commodities.
The Telehoist 3-cwt. sack lifter operates on a similar principle, with a valve-operating linkage for automatic raising and lowering, and may be fitted at the rear or side of the vehicle. Like the Shoulderhi, it is normally stored beneath the platform of the lorry when travelling. Modified cradles are available for other types of load, such as milk churns, swill bins and so on.
A barrel lifter made by the same concern has a maximum capacity of 600 lb. and accommodates loading heights of 3 ft. 7 in. to 4 ft. 5 in. Normally the cradle is raised to floor-level for travelling, thus dispensing with the tailboard, but it may be detached after the removal of two locking pins, which allows the tailboard to be raised to its usual position.
Investigations have shown that mechanical loaders enable older people to be employed, or youths to be replaced by women. In some cases, a request from a trader has been responsible for additional vehicles being fitted with mechanical loaders by the supplier or haulier.
Many large hauliers, such as British Road Services, and C-licensees providing a countrywide service, have experimented with lifting attachments and have proved their worth for specialized traffic for which the same type of vehicle is continually employed. According to a number of transport managers, however, a loader represents an unnecessary addition to unladen weight and an encumbrance during much of the working life of a vehicle if it is used for mixed traffic and a wide variety of loads.
This view is undoubtedly justified in many instances, but it is reasonable to emphasize that an in-built lifting device is generally considered as a last resort when all other means for loading and unloading have been tried and found wanting. Mechanical handling with the aid of fork trucks, conveyors and other depot equipment is now a principle in many organizations to which the transport system must be accommodated, rather than one which must be accommodated to the transport system.
[The equipment manufacturers mentioned are: Telehoist, Ltd„ Swindon Lane, Cheltenham; A. J. Mackaness, Ltd., Billing, Northants: Anthony Hoists, Ltd., South Ruislip, Middx.. and Burtnnwood Engineering Co.. Ltd., Edgware Road, The Hyde, London, N.W.9.1