Plant Equipment and Hire July 2018 | Page 30

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