SubscribeMost of the solutions offered so far have proven to have serious drawbacks.
- Manual solutions demand additional hands (lashers), who have to be brought in specially. The work of these lashers, particularly on board ship, is always associated with considerable risk.
- Automatic solutions require separate mains connections to the spreader or the provision of additional fastenings for the over-height frames. These mostly have to be manually mounted or de-coupled, often in extremely unfavourable conditions. The terminal may also be seriously restricted in its choice of components (e.g. spreaders).
- The use of separate setting down frames is not conducive to universal and rapid handling of oversize cargo either, as it limits flexibility in the use of over-height frames (OHF).
Delays Affect Productivity
As a result, the continuity of loading operations is disrupted appreciably. This has negative effects in particular on the co-ordination of expensive handling machinery which, in turn, has unfavourable repercussions for the productivity of a terminal. Such interruptions to operational sequences generate costs which are far in excess of the directly related costs of individual delays.
Nowadays four or five quay cranes are deployed for a large ship, and operational sequences differ in detail in each terminal. Whether it is a chassis, straddle carrier, reach stacker, RMG or RTG, all of them have one thing in common: external economic pressure which multiplies with the expansion of container traffic.
The declared objectives of terminal operators and shipping companies are the cost-effective and fastest possible throughput procedures. If yet another optimisation of container throuput is possible, then it is to a considerable extent through optimising connected work sequences.
Further increases in productivity can be achieved through standardisation on the one hand, but in particular through continuity on the other.
This requires co-ordination of equipment used throughout the transport chain. Despite the most modern communications systems delays are unavoidable, loss of time measuring just a few seconds or minutes quickly builds up to considerable delays.
Productivity losses are particularly serious when several large pieces of equipment are affected by delay. Experienced terminal managers have known for some time now that the best transshipment results are not gained through surges of peak performance, but rather through consistent performance at the highest level.
The Over-Height Frame
Over-height containers, requiring complicated handling, are often used to represent an obstacle. However, for the past three years, the German company SORT + STORE has been building fully automatic over-height frames which enable smooth handling of oversize cargo and therefore offer a complete solution to this problem.
Some of the largest German seaports have been able to put the OHF to the test by using it daily in rugged, and the most extreme of, weather conditions.
The OHF has proved its reliability in both the 20 foot and 40 foot versions. Considerable numbers of this tried and tested, fully matured product are now in operation in important container terminals around the globe and have proved their worth in both tropical and polar climates.
The tough requirements which the manufacturer demanded of the product guarantee are absolute quality in combination with a robust design, thus the refined technology on which this handling machinery is based ensures 100% failsafe functioning with minimal susceptibility to problems and practically total independence from other equipment deployed in the yard.
With its fully automatic over-height frame, SORT + STORE has succeeded in realising terminal operators desire for smooth throughput of oversize cargo.
Function and Ease of Use
The functioning of this piece of equipment is just as simple as it is safe. Since the fully automatic over-height frame is solely activated through the switching sequence of the spreader twistlocks, all that is needed to operate it is to throw the spreader?s switch. The intelligence built into the over-height frame makes operating mistakes impossible. The OHF is locked onto as if it is a standard container, then applied to a flat or an open-top container. Co-ordination with another person, frequently a source of problems, is no longer necessary.
Only when the OHF has been correctly placed on the container to be transported does an integrated hydraulic safety check activate a mechanical connection between the spreader twistlocks and the OHF twistlocks. The hydraulic energy needed for the safety check is automatically regenerated by every turn of the spreader twistlocks. The integral drive mechanism is constructed in such a way that the switching position of the OHF independent of the direction in which the mother spreader twistlocks turn only changes while locking the spreader twistlocks.
Unlocking the spreader twistlocks does not cause any movement of the OHF twistlocks. This principle is as simple as operating a ballpoint pen. Moreover, this functioning principle allows all four OHF twistlocks, regardless of the turning direction of the mother spreader twistlocks, to turn evenly and exactly at 90 degrees.
This simplicity is also the reason for the very wide acceptance of the OHF by service personnel, who are not distracted from their already very responsible job by a complicated sequence of events.
On setting down the container, the operator can decide whether to leave the OHF on the container for the rest of its handling process, or to take it with him for Figure 2 OHF on over-height cargo Figure 3 Extreme over-height freight Port Technology International Port Technology International the next operation.
This way, continous transport from ship to any other part of the yard is guaranteed. Whether with or without container, the OHF can be picked up at any time and used by any lifting gear equipped with any spreader having ISO, Sealand or universal twistlocks.
Extreme over-height freight
Safety
Every OHF is manufactured in Germany by specialist certified firms with strict supervision by SORT + STORE. Both static calculations and the production method were vetted and approved by the German standards testing authority TÜV and the German Wholeselling and Warehousing Trade Association. The material used is put through an ultrasound examination and a separate test certificate is issued for each OHF. Before any frame leaves the factory, it is given a thorough checking in which each function is extensively tested.
A specially developed automatic switcher ensures that each OHF has undergone at least 3000 switching operations before it is released for dispatch. The rough conditions in a container terminal put extreme demands on every handling device, so that over the course of time breakdowns can never be ruled out.
Although the availability of the OHF is extremely high at 99.9%, a risk of failure does remain. In spite of this, safety remains 100%, due to the fact that when a disruption occurs, a container cannot be picked up at all; in other words, this excludes any possibility of partial operation or malfunctioning at the outset.
Sales
SORT + STORE sells through a network of well-known trading partners which are at home in port business and, in addition to skilled advice, guarantee customer service and direct contact with the manufacturer where maintenance and repair work is needed. The technology that creates the simplicity and safety of SORT + STORE over-height frames is housed "well protected" in the corner of the frame.
To ensure that they continue to function over the long term, only the highest quality components are used.The OHF required very high investment in the development phase and means that this modern handling aid made in Germany does not come cheap. However, this investment is quickly realised; in view of the efficient work rate capability, current users are achieving this within two or three years.
Test Frames
In almost all terminals, handling oversize cargo represents an unwelcome disruption of the optimised routine operational sequences for which global standards were after all created. For this reason, investment in handling equipment for this niche area is certainly subjected to harsher controls than normal.
Instead of them having to rely on advertising statements, this manufacturer offers interested terminals the opportunity to test an OHF to the limits on loan for four weeks so that they can really assess sector-newcomer SORT + STORE on the ground. Apart from freight costs the terminal will face no further financial outlay.
Additional Fittings
Close contact with users inevitably leads to demands for further development of products, which is what has happened, for example, with the expansion of usage possibilities from spreaders with ISO twistlocks to other twistlock systems.
