: Big Lift Trucks : solutions

Smorgon Steel reduces Working from Heights issues

Smorgon Steel is one of the largest steel producers in the country, with annual production exceeding 900,000 tonnes making them the largest buyer of feed scrap in Australia - more than one million tonnes annually. Most of Smorgon Steel's production is sold to the company's own downstream processing, distribution and engineering businesses. Smorgon Steel Reinforcing Geebung, (Brisbane), is one such business and has one of the busiest steel loading bays in the country. The Occupational Health and Safety issues associated with steel loading and distribution are many and costly. The most challenging being to provide a safe process for the staff to place and secure loads on to trucks and trailers.

According to Mr Wade Price, Distribution and Customer Service Manager, Smorgon Steel Reinforcing lifts and shifts approximately 4,000 bundles of steel a day. Truck and trailer heights are usually 1.5 metres above the ground and the safety concerns of staff climbing up and down off trailers many times per day were becoming too hard to ignore and Mr Price needed to find an alternative solution.

Smorgon Steel Reinforcing Geebung Operations

Smorgon Steel Reinforcing is the largest of the reinforcement steel processing and distribution businesses in the Smorgon Steel Group. They are Australia's largest manufacturer and distributor of steel reinforcing products to the building and construction industries. Smorgon Steel Reinforcing receives its steel requirements from both the Smorgon Group's steel mills. Smorgon Steel Reinforcing also processes bright and galvanised wire manufactured by Smorgon Steel Wire Products. Smorgon Steel Reinforcing has supplied many of the major construction projects in Australia, from the massive Snowy Mountains hydro electric scheme, to the more recent Sydney Olympic stadium and Melbourne's City Link project. Smorgon Steel Reinforcing also supplies reinforcing products to thousands of builders, construction companies and resellers around the country. Smorgon Steel Reinforcing has nine manufacturing plants and 47 service centres strategically located throughout Australia.

The Problems

Smorgon Steel Reinforcing is responsible for producing special reinforcing assemblies for the company. This includes fabricating, loading and unloading of unusual angles, sizes and shapes of steel bar, which are the most difficult to handle and can cause major safety issues in the yard and to the staff.

The previous process was to utilise 40 ft road trailers as the order module and to move these around the facility and make up the supply order as the trailer was delivered to the next supply point. At any given time there were up to 30 trailers moving around the site making up customer orders.

Mr Price identified that Smorgon Steel Reinforcing was using 40 trailers in total to store steel both work in progress and final despatch orders. 22 of the trailers were rented. The remaining 18 were owned and maintained by Smorgon Steel. The site was continually congested, impeding truck and machinery movements and staff safety was becoming an issue.

In addition the Working from Heights issues was a growing concern with the loading staff working at 1.5 metre heights on and off the back of trailers all day. The probability for falls and accidents on site was a risk that needed to be addressed.

"If you work out that our staff handle approximately 4,000 bundles a day on site all to 1.5 metres then you will understand the issue of working from heights is foremost in our minds all day every day," Mr Price said.

The Solution = The Mobicon System

After much research and cost analysis Mr Price identified that the most cost effective solution for the yard was to invest in a Mobicon and to replace the road trailers with transi flats instantly eliminating the working from heights issue and greatly reducing congestion on the site.

Smorgon Steel Reinforcing at Geebung has made its yard safer, eliminating storage trailers and dramatically reduced loading costs simply by investing in a Mobicon.

The 40 trailers were replaced by 20 and 40 ft container flats which can be multi stacked when empty and utilised as needed. Effectively, the transi flats are a like a huge pallet that can be moved around the site as the customer's order is assembled.

The Mobicon picks up the transi flats and moves them into the production facility and under the gantry cranes, which makes up the order on to the transi flat. The Mobicon picks the laden transi flat up and transports it back into the storage yard for securing or despatch, or into storage rows waiting for the next component of the order.

The 33 Tonne capacity Mobicon is designed to handle any length container, from 16 foot through to 52 foot. It lifts the load from the bottom container castings which allows the machine to handle flat beds, tank containers and curtain sided containers. The overall height of the Mobicon is very low allowing it to access through most roller shutter doors. The "Two Tower" design provides the flexibility to operate on sloping or uneven surfaces. Compacted gravel and bitumen yards are also suitable for the Mobicon.

Benefits for Smorgon Steel Staff

Replacing Trailers with Transi Flats.
The transi flats are used as a loading platform instead of a normal trailer. These are bulk stacked when empty and when required the Mobicon will deliver them into the production and loading areas.

Once loaded the transi flat will be lifted and transported to the holding areas waiting for delivery. When the delivery is required the Mobicon will load the laden transi flat onto the vehicle in one lift. Upon the vehicles return with an empty transi flat, the Mobicon will unload and put it back onto the bulk stack waiting for the next order.

This means that loading has become safer - instead of staff working at a trailer height of 1.5 metres, they are now working at a safe 300 mm off the ground. This alone is a major contributing factor for the implementation of the Mobicon into the Steel Reinforcing business.

By utilising the Mobicon and transi flats Smorgon Steel Reinforcing has significantly reduced its on site congestion, making the yard a safer workplace. The replacement of trailers with transi flats has provided cost benefits for the business. It has enabled Smorgon Steel Reinforcing to sell 18 company owned trailers and also remove the need for hire trailers.

Financial Benefits

o 18 company owned trailers were sold
o 22 Rental trailers were returned
o Company owned Yard Prime Mover was eliminated
o Lifting loads onto trailers costing labour time and equipment maintenance was dramatically reduced

Safety Benefits

With the implementation of the Mobicon System and transi flats the working from heights issues have been dramatically reduced to the lowest ever on site.
o Significantly reduced the quantity of product lifting required
o Transi flats are 300mm high, instead of trailers at 1.5 metres high, means staff are not required to work up on trailers to position and secure loads. They now do this from the ground.
o Significantly reduced yard congestion

Yard Space Maximization

Another area in which the business has benefited from the Mobicon is yard space. The utilisation of transi flats now enables bulk stacking of the empty transi flats. The Mobicon can stack 9 transi flats in the space that one trailer would usually take up.
o Frees up storage space in the yard that was previously allotted for empty trailers
o Enables block stacking of empty transi flats
o Significantly reduced yard congestion
o Back yard is compacted gravel and adequate for the Mobicon
o Mobicon can move into the buildings taking the transi flats right to the production line
o The Mobicon has low noise output - Smorgon Steel is situated adjacent to a residential area

According to Mr Price the Mobicon/transi flat solution was widely and easily accepted by the staff. The operators were trained in the use of the Mobicon and have found the system easy to use and manage in the yard.

The Mobicon and the transi flat model have saved Smorgon Steel Reinforcing significant expenses associated with loading and unloading. By reducing the need for trailers and moving towards the new model Smorgon have also dramatically reduced machinery and associated operating costs.

Overall the Mobicon has saved Smorgon Steel Reinforcing labour constrictive processes, double and triple handling of orders, eliminated yard trailers entirely, decreased working from heights issues and made the yard less congested and significantly safer.

The Mobicon system was designed by Mr Tom Schults, and is 100% Australian designed and is constructed in Brisbane, Queensland.