Heavyweights meet fitness challenge
September 1st 2011 As industry faces ever-increasing
demands to produce goods more
quickly, more safely and at a lower
cost, the materials handling sector
continues, as it always has, to provide
innovative solutions. This is perhaps
most evident in the slightly rarefied
sphere of 'heavy lifting', itself a hugely
diverse area.
Where large, heavy or unwieldy
items need to be moved on site or
within factory or plant, a variety of
cranes, hoists, turntables and
conveyors is available and will
manage most situations where goods
are transported over a defined route.
Where, however, a greater degree of
flexibility is needed,mobile units
come into their own.
To meet the specific challenges of
heavy handling in an indoor
environment such as a manufacturing
facility where space is limited yet
procedures often complex, very
specialised solutions are called for.
Interesting examples are provided by
Hertfordshire-based Stanley
Handling, which has pioneered the
development of bespoke handling
equipment for demanding and often
unusual applications.
Project managers at one of
Europe's biggest pre-cast concrete
manufacturing facilities needed a
reliable and flexible means of
transporting huge skips filled with
wet concrete between the various
stages of production where they were
raised and lowered by overhead
cranes. A powered pallet truck, the 8-
tonne ROBUR K9SBM80, was
selected as the base model. To handle
the concrete skips, 1800mm heavyduty
forks with a closed height of
330mm and a 115mm lift were
specified, as was power steering and a
'quick change' battery system to
ensure compatibility with the site's
24/7 working.
The client insisted that the design
characteristics of all trucks operating
in the new plant should permit
drivers an unobstructed view in the
direction of travel when reversing and
whilst undertaking a range of
manoeuvres. To this end, the truck
was designed with the driver station
and operating controls on the side of
the chassis, ensuring safer operation
and minimising risks to staff,
equipment and materials. A readiness
to offer, uniquely, the side-mounted
operator controls, an early delivery
date and the provision of full spares
support for a bespoke truck
combined to satisfy the client's
operational demands.
Leading injection-moulding
manufacturer McKechnie Plastic
Components also found itself in a
handling quandary. To fulfil
new orders, the company
needed to introduce tooling
weighing up to 12,000kg and with a
footprint of two square meters.
Overhead cranes were used over
moulding machines but moving both
the new equipment and existing tools
between production area and tool
room would require a new solution.
The ROBUR technical team at
Stanley Handling provided a solution,
one that would also permit access
around the site's narrow gangways
and restricted spaces. A solid load
platform, aft-mounted driver station
and operation-specific control,
steering and braking settings were
specified and with the promise of a
sixteen-week timescale to design,
build and deliver the ROBUR
12,000kg powered pallet truck, the
deal was struck.
Fortunately, many heavy-duty
handling operations can be carried
out using what we might, within the
context of an often technically very
complex area, describe as 'standard'
equipment. It is clear though, that in a
significant number of cases, the
ingenuity and expertise of materials
handling engineers and their
willingness to design very specialised
equipment for demanding and often
unique operations will be key. More articles from Stanley Handling Limited: | 
