Models that are made to measure
February 1st 2011 Custom designed trucks can prove
effective both in terms of cost saving and
health and safety, says Hubtex
Akey question regarding heavy
duty lifting and moving is
whether to use custom
designed equipment or deploy generic
trucks.
A 20 tonne steel section 10 metres
long can easily be picked up by a large
counterbalance truck but it requires a
lot of space and questions could be
asked over safety. This has to be
balanced against the cost of designing a
tailor-made handling solution.
The best option is to talk to a
manufacturer who is used to providing
solutions for these kind of issues. Time is also very important. It
can take many weeks to create a solution in concept and a
sensible guide to cost is important at the earliest stage for both
customer and supplier as much time can be wasted otherwise in
development if the cost is never going to be justified.
A good example of this would the facts surrounding a
Dedicated Picking Platform. The cost of such a truck is known
through similar applications and balancing this with the
expected customer benefits at stage one determines whether the
concept will be cost effective.
If the project goes forward from here, Stage Two consists of
detailed investigation. An example of the importance of accuracy
here is simple. If a fork truck dealer provides a customer with say
a 2.5 tonne counterbalance truck with a 4500mm duplex mast
and a low door height has been missed, the truck can be changed
very quickly, even if at someone's cost. However, if a hybrid truck
has been specified wrongly, the truck could be scrapped and the
cost to whoever may be far
more than the truck cost to
produce.
A good example of a bespoke
truck is the coil and reel
handler. Large reels can be very
awkward to move around due
to their shape and visibility can
be a major problem. This truck
overcomes these issues and
offers greater space utilisation.
In summary, intelligent
planning and research means
that there is a good chance of a
solution being found for awkward loads. In addition,
improvements in the way existing material is being handled are
possible, offering improved
safety and efficiency. More articles from Hubtex (UK) Ltd: | 
