Tomra takes a safer lift from penny hydraulics
March 1st 2010 Recycling equipment manufacturer,
Tomra Systems, has installed a
bespoke version of the Penny
Hydraulics Load Lift inside its latest
VW Transporter service vehicles to
transport palletised specialist
components without the need for
manual handling. In addition to
simplifying the handling of heavy
and valuable equipment, the Load
Lift allows a single engineer to carry
out maintenance tasks where two or
more people were previously
required.
"We have safer and better working
practices," says David Saul, project
manager at Tomra Systems. "We are
also able to send one engineer and
one set of tools to each job which is
more efficient and productive. But
the payback we have achieved is
incidental because above all else I
wanted our engineers to be safe."
Tomra designs and manufactures
sophisticated automated waste
sortation and processing equipment.
The replacement of cutting heads is
one of the tasks that service
engineers must be complete from
time to time. Cutting heads and
other large components are crated
and palletised for transportation.
Each load weighs many tens of
kilograms and is too heavy to be
lifted safely and within existing
manual handling guidelines by a
single person.
The Load Lift is a light and
compact platform lift for loads up to
300kg that offers a safe, reliable and
economical way of handling loads.
Its design allows it to be installed
inside the rear doors of the van
without restricting access to the load
area or affecting alternative carrying
solutions. Self-contained hydraulic
systems ensure smooth, precise and
assured operation while simple push
button controls, automatic battery
isolation and overload protection
promote ease of use and safety.
Tomra had already chosen the VW
Transporter T28/130 as its new
service engineer vehicle because it
offered a combination of load space
and performance. This is probably
the smallest vehicle in which a Load
Lift has been installed and early on
in the design process it was clear that
the standard model would not offer
the optimum performance for this
particular application. The concept
was to lift the pallet truck and crate
into the vehicle, but when these were
mounted centrally on the
conventional platform there was
potential for load to catch on the rear
bumper and door frame of the vehicle
as the combination was loaded.
The solution devised by Penny
Hydraulics was a longer platform
that allows the hand pallet truck and
Europallet to be positioned at its rear
for the initial part of the lift and then
pushed forward slightly before the
load enters the vehicle to avoid any
potential overhang problems. Small
recesses towards the rear and centre
of the platform engage the back
wheels of the pallet truck safely in
the correct position for each stage of
the lifting process. Once the load is
inside the vehicle it can be secured in
position on the platform with
conventional stowing straps. The
platform's rear section is then folded
up to create an additional barrier
between the load and vehicle doors
for extra safety during
transportation.
"This is a simple but clever
solution to our requirement and it
works really well," says Saul. "The
platform folds out of the way when
we're not using it which means we
get most of the load space back for
general use when we need it."
Penny Hydraulics checked the
loadings for the modified units
during the design and manufacture
stage. It then completed the
installation at is factory and provided
user training to Tomra's engineering
team. The first unit was tested in the
field by Tomra before it decided to
specify another for a second identical
service vehicle. The way the unit has
been designed and installed ensures
that the load is placed in front of the
rear axle and this promotes better
weight distribution, which in turn
helps with vehicle handling. The
entire project was completed to very
tight deadlines to ensure both
vehicles were operational within a
couple of weeks. More articles from Penny Hydraulics Limited: | 
