NEW EQUIPMENT
The load is slowly pulled into the container, ensuring minimal handling, scuffing, or damage to the cargo.
C
argo ships piled several stories its receiving depot/premises, and been
high with multicoloured containers offloaded, unloading begins.
are a common sight in any
major harbour, no matter where on the Unloading methods
planet you are. Available in standardised Manual labour has always been a prime
dimensions, they can be loaded and component in the traditional unloading
unloaded, stacked and transported process, and with it, all the associated
efficiently over long distances, and hazards, some of which are:
transferred from one mode of transport
to another, from container ships to rail
transport flatcars and semi-trailer trucks, all
without being opened.
The container handling system is
completely mechanised, carried out with
cranes and special forklift trucks. Filled with
every manner of merchandise, from glass
bottles, electronic goods, and foodstuffs
to heavy equipment and awkwardly long
construction components, the containers
are swung off the vessels’ decks and
moved off to warehouses on the first step
of their journey across land to a receiving
depot. Once the container has arrived at
30
JULY 2018
• containers placed on sloping or
uneven ground
• items breaking loose, owing to
inadequate securing to prevent
movement during transport
• items not packed for easy unpacking
• excessive manual handling
• slips, trips, and falls
• incorrectly using plant to unpack the
container; for example, using a forklift
not designed to tow or to drag items
out of a container
• overloading plant, and not taking the
rated capacities of attachments into
consideration
• people working in and around the
container running the risk of being
injured by mobile plant used for
removing items
• conducting manual tasks that require
lifting heavy or bulky items, or
situations that require the worker to
use awkward postures.
Martin Mc Vicar, managing director of
Irish manufacturer Combilift — a company
recognised as a leader in bespoke lifting
equipment design — explains how,
seven years ago, the company developed
the Combilift Straddle Carrier, designed
specifically for container handling.
As the Straddle market grew, Combilift
was increasingly exposed to various
client challenges around handling long
goods, he says. “The container market
appeared a logical step for us to enter, so
two years ago, we pondered on how to
load containers more efficiently and, 12