Clearview 233 - April 2021 | Page 10

INDUSTRYNEWS

Bi-fold door delivery made safer

The recent and unwavering popularity of bifolding doors may have kept order books full for everyone in the supply chain , but the ‘ bigger the better ’ attitude when it comes to the ‘ Grand Designs ’ aluminium aesthetic has thrown an unexpected issue into the mix . What once was an unusual undertaking amidst the more ‘ normal ’ sized doors and windows has become such a common occurrence that not only are installers having to rethink the way they transport and handle these enormous products , manufacturers and suppliers are upgrading their fleet to accommodate more cumbersome units , but also to make it safer for everyone involved .
» ONE SUCH COMPANY IS MADE for Trade . With ever increasing sales volumes of aluminium bifolding doors , the decision was taken to add 12 new delivery vehicles to the fleet ; with it setting the engineering department the task of improving the safe on and offloading of the products . This has successfully been achieved with a full redesign of the way vehicles are loaded and offloaded . All doors are lowered to ground level with an onboard crane thus avoiding all manual handling and possible injury to new and existing customers nationwide and valued employees .
The unsafe handling of oversized bifolding doors is - according to Made for Trade - something the industry has turned a blind eye to for many years . Fraught with danger , this is an accident waiting to happen when drivers are expected to offload often very large and heavy doors on site unaided . At best , the unit itself - and even the delivery vehicle - can get damaged , but the very worse consequences could be extremely unpleasant for the person trying to handle it .
Making for a safer way is a question Made for Trade has grappled with for years , although they have done everything possible to ensure safety of drivers and staff at all times and thankfully there are no incidents of anyone being hurt .
Made for Trade ’ s Richard Gaunt commented : “ If we have a company mission statement ... then our aim is quite simply to supply the best product at the best prices backed up with continued product development , and support service .
“ I know every company should be saying this but MFT are doing it . The company has grown at a tremendous rate of between 25 and 40 % a year over the last five years ; development and good design is the key through new products and continuing to improve the customer experience .
“ As mentioned with the huge in increase in bifold sales , we have increased our delivery fleet with 12 purpose designed vehicles and in so doing improved greatly the safer delivery to site .
“ This investment ties in perfectly with the new bifolding door , which has been designed in the same vein as our market-leading Korniche aluminium roof lantern ; that is to be more user friendly than what has come before . It ’ s faster and easier to install , glazed in seconds , fitted in minutes . This means less time on site for the installer meaning lower installation costs , and we ’ re giving a more competitive product to the end user . Combine this with safer , quicker delivery due to the new fleet , everyone is a winner .”
www . madefortrade . co
OPERATOR IS ALWAYS SAFE
The new 12-tonne Rollaflex vehicles have been commissioned from a local vehicle supplier . The logistics cycle starts off with the doors being moved from coded dispatch racks and loaded onto specially made stillages at floor level . As each door is placed onto the stillage a set of soft slings are fitted to predetermined safe positions depending on the style of door . Once all stillages are full , the wagons move into the loading positions , the retractable curtain is drawn back , and the stillage is moved by forklift onto the wagon bed and locked into place . Once at the customer ’ s site , the driver conducts a risk assessment , cordons off the area and uses an articulated crane mounted to the vehicle bed for the safe and secure unloading of the door from the wagon to the ground in readiness for the customer to collect . The new design ensures that manual lifting of the doors is eliminated and that the operator is always safe , even when working from the unprotected wagon sides to attach the crane hook to the slings via a retractable barrier .
10 » APR 2021 » CLEARVIEW-UK . COM