Advanced Container Handling

The container market is booming, even in times of a crippling global economy.

The standard box has proven itself an unbeatable system for fast and cost-efficient transportation. As a result, anyone who has goods to be shipped tries to send them by container.

This also means that the dimensions of more and more goods shipped by container are too large for shipment in a single standard container. These products, which are primarily loaded on flat racks or open-top containers, can not be handled in the normal handling flow and therefore cause costly delays.

Since, on the other hand, the proportion of so-called out-of-gage cargo is on a constant increase, fully-automatic overheight fixtures, which significantly speed up the handling of such cargo, are increasingly becoming the focus of terminals concerned with optimal profitability.

Unlike the traditional methods of loading with chains and ropes or even manual overheight frames, these modern handling devices do not require any additional workers in the yard or even on-board. Unnecessary and costintensive periods of waiting for the large device can thus be efficiently avoided. Moreover, the risks to the lasher's life and limbs are also considerably reduced.

However, the following differences should also be noted in this category of handling equipment. Some device types need to be attached manually or request rebuilding work on the existing device, i.e. onto the spreaders in use.

This is complex and may lead to disputes in relation to the guarantees provided in the event of an accident. Moreover, when used in rough terminal operation, such hook systems are frequently exposed to the risk of damage, which can itself result in device failure, even in the event of minor damage.

Experience has now that overheight fixtures used as handling devices with often only sporadic and, in any case, irregular operating times are frequently not serviced as regularly as desired.

It is therefore all the more important to use extremely robust and low-maintenance mechanics in these technically demanding devices. The use of special storage frames as a prerequisite for combining the spreader and the overheight frame has its disadvantages: it is hereby not possible to directly transfer a load together with frames from a handling device to the next one during the handling process; a handling procedure, which again results in time being lost, as the frame must always be interposed.

The following applies here, as in all other cases: the factor that is decisive for overall profitability is not the overheight frame itself but rather the idle time and waiting periods endured by the large and expensive device that are caused by the handling procedure f. e. from the straddle carrier to the STScrane.

The installation of additional twistlocks on the spreaders for attaching the overheight frame is even more complex. It limits, a priori, the number of spreaders that can be operated with these devices. Moreover, this mode of operation requires additional switches in the driver's cab with the consequential risk of faulty operation.

However, since the out-ofgage cargo is directly located in the particularly high-quality area, falls that can be avoided are highly problematic, as they have, last but not least, an influence on the cost of insurance premiums. Unlike the aforementioned system, the overheight frames manufactured by the German company SORT + STORE operate completely independently without any need for external devices or power supply.

The energy required is generated exclusively by the torque of the spreader twistlocks. One of these twist locks produces the hydraulic pressure required for checking whether the frame is correctly attached to the container at all four corners. Another twist lock operates the frame twistlock by means of a sophisticated drive - always consistently and always at exactly 90° regardless of the spreader twistlock's angle of rotation. These frames are therefore always ready for use, regardless of where they are stored; they do not need to be attached to or rebuilt onto the existing equipment and can be operated in the simplest way.

The driver operates the device with just his normal locking button: if the overheight frame is attached correctly, each locking action moves it forward by 90°; unlocking does not trigger any action on the frame. This also guarantees that the overheight frame either remains connected to the vehicle spreader or to the out-of-gage cargo at the discretion of the overheight frame driver. This simple and logical handling procedure applies indifferently to the fixed model and to the telescopic frame.

However, since they are passive systems, the last-mentioned must be telescoped by the master spreader. In addition, this spreader must be retrofitted so that it can expand and retract while its twistlocks are in locked position. A small intervention with the software is normally sufficient for that.

Since this type of device is also used amongst others in the ultra-modern container terminal Altenwerder CTA, it is also available with magnets for automatic recognition by the spreader when in non-manual operation. These devices have been available on the market in fixed lengths since 1996; the telescopable version was added in 2000.

Since then, both versions have undergone various further developments: the unladen weight has been tangibly reduced thanks to a consequential lightweight construction, the force required for telescoping the TOF has been clearly reduced and construction of the devices has been optimised. In addition, there are also special versions with different free overheights the standard is 2.1m but devices with a free overheight of up to 3m can also be produced.

A special feature: these super overheight frames can also be used with normal handling speed. For particularly heavy loads, there are also devices that accept working loads of up to 10T heavier than the standard 40T proposed for the loading case H2/B4 and 50T for H1/B2.

The increase in out-of-gage cargo already mentioned initially with the most varied requirements with regard to fast and smooth handling requires flexible answers from the market of handling equipment providers. SORT + STORE has attended to this problem in a special way.

The SORT + STORE crew has even produced a special version for moving flatrack stacks with apportioned side walls at the customer's request in accordance with the company's main dictum: the customer's requirements are a challenge for the company's development engineers!