: Big Lift Trucks : solutions

Kagan eliminates terminal congestion

With the Melbourne division of Kagan Bros. Consolidated unloading and loading hundreds of containers a week the growing expenses of their Sideloader, and container forklift, saddled with increasing issues in yard congestion and labour utilisation, made them rethink the way they were running the facility.

Kagans' Victorian division operates a third party logistics and transport terminal on a 24 acre site in Melbourne's western suburbs and is responsible for the loading and unloading of containers on a daily basis. The client base is diverse and requires different storage and handling needs for each individual customer. The site has eleven warehouses, all approximately 3500m2 each, that are individually dedicated to specific customers' goods, and every client has a separately secured storage area dedicated to them on site. Driveway and hard stand access to these warehouses can be restrictive and congested in peak times and was impacting on the throughput of the operations and the bottom line.

Kagan Operations

Kagan operate a 30 tonne 20 / 40 capable forklift truck for the unloading and loading of containers on site. The forklift works on a dedicated pad and facilitates the quick handling of laden containers to and from trucks.

Previously, a yard based Sideloader was used to distribute the laden containers around the site to each of the dedicated warehouses, however, its cycle times, physical size and operating costs did not provide an effective solution. The Sideloader was restricted to where it could physically place containers, which resulted in increased handling costs per box movement. In addition, the issue of slow cycle times caused the yard to become choked with trucks, containers and staff. This resulted in extended working hours, increased costs of labour hire and created poor terminal throughput.

According to Mr Simon Neal, Kagan Warehouse Manager the site can be restrictive to where they can unload and load containers.

"A lot of the pavements and roadways to the warehouses are bitumen and concrete and were not originally designed for traffic of heavy forklifts, or the unloading and loading of containers," Mr Neal said.

Mr Neal added that a second area on site was also too difficult for the Sideloader to access as it is narrow and compact which caused Kagan extreme limitations for their growing operations.

" The purchase of the Sideloader had originally seemed like a good idea but the mounting expenses and operating costs associated with the equipment were too blatant to ignore, while at the same time the demand from our clients, who wanted to utilise our side-loader on their site, was increasing daily " Mr. Simon Neal

The Problems

According to Mr Neal the Sideloader was costing Kagan approximately $70 an hour to simply drop containers near the site warehouses. The containers were often dropped quite some distance away from the warehouse entrances, as the side-loader was unable to place the containers into a position that best suited the operation. On average the Sideloader was only able to handle 10 to 12 containers a day.

"The other problem we faced was the concentration of employees and small forklifts around the containers unloading activities. This would slow down the unloading processes as well," he said

"It was simply not the most ideal solution for our facility or our transport program. The costs were too high for the benefits we were receiving and we needed a better solution." Mr Neal said.

The Solution = The Mobicon System

The Mobicon System is designed to handle any length container, from 16 foot (4.6 metres) through to 48 foot (14.6 metres). It lifts the load from the bottom, which allows the operator to handle flat beds, tank containers and curtain sided containers and keep the overall height very low. 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.
On site the Mobicon works in partnership with a 30 tonne forklift, and with the Mobicons' 33 tonne capacity, takes laden containers from the receiving pad around the site and places the containers adjacent to the warehouse doors or inside when necessary. For Kagan, the Mobicon also loads and unloads trucks at the position of packing or unpacking. The purchase of a Mobicon allows Kagan to operate real-time loading and unloading programs, increase labour efficiencies, decrease operating expenses and reduces site congestion.

The Mobicon System permits the effective separation of the destuffing or stuffing operations, minimises travel distances and ensures faster, more efficient operations (less labour hire) and lessens the opportunity for stock damage. The trucks now position themselves next to the container rather than the forklift carrying the container to them - to avoid double handling.

Benefits for Kagan Staff

The Mobicon places containers right where they are needed, adjacent to the stock or storage area, effectively separating the unloading or loading activities, reducing congestion and making the workplace significantly safer. Travel distances between the warehouse and containers are dramatically reduced with the benefits of less manpower required to achieve this task. The faster cycle times of the Mobicon have eliminated labour forces waiting times and the need for extended unscheduled working hours.

Dramatically Reduced Operating Costs

According to Mr Neal the inefficiency of the Sideloader was costing Kagan up to $3000 a week in additional transport costs. The Mobicon has not incurred any such costs to date.

Relocation of the Sideloader

The Sideloader was unable to cope with the container throughput on the site, and the high lifting cycle demand was wearing the Sideloader out. It was quickly identified that there was too much strain on it and that the machine was wearing out too quickly. At a cost of approximately $160,000 to purchase a Sideloader it was decided to relocate its usage to the transport operations. The Sideloader is now used as an additional service for Kagan customers and does not incur the strains of high lift cycles as before.

On Site Benefits

o Ability to utilise more areas of the site due to Mobicon designs, including low axle weight, low height, faster cycle times, being able to drop containers next to, or in to, warehouses, and being able to go into places where the Sideloader could not. Container forklifts weigh approximately 50 tonne, and then carry up to 30 tonne containers. Therefore they have a maximum weight of 80 tonnes or more, and many industrial estate pavements are not designed to carry these loadings. The Mobicon can operate on any pavements including bitumen and compacted gravel.

o The Mobicon has eliminated the congestion of containers and trucks on site and therefore has made Kagan a safer workplace. Trucks can now move around the site more easily, and are not faced with high people congestion around unloading areas, forklifts and driveways.

o The Mobicon weighs only 12 tonne empty, and as the weight is evenly spread across 8 wheels, the wheel loadings are less than 6 tonne when carrying a 26 tonne container. This makes the Mobicon a lighter and safer solution than the alternatives. ( Forklifts and Reach Stackers)

o Kagan can now drop the containers closer to the warehouse doors. The Mobicon can place containers in to tight spots and will pass through a 3.8 metre high by 4.7 metre wide door opening. This allows the operator to transport the containers inside buildings and unload into doorways. The Mobicon allows staff to unload containers undercover, out of the rain or heat.

o With the Mobicon, Kagan can get a 48 foot container in to the warehouse; this is because it is designed to straddle the container. It has the ability to move in restrictive areas and can fully utilise all areas of the site. The Mobicon is the first system that can actually get containers into restricted warehouse spaces.

Benefits for Kagan Operations

With the Melbourne facility running eleven on site warehouses at any one time, on 24 acres, the Mobicon now allows for greater flexibility and increased efficiency with its container movements.

Mr Neal has identified that the Mobicon travels approximately 12 Kilometres a day and can be utilised all day every day, in and around the site.

Kagan have now introduced a night shift to the facility where they may pick orders for the next day. The introduction of both the night shift and the Mobicon enables containers to be unloaded and loaded 24 hours a day. This significantly increases their throughput and provides improved customer service capabilities.

There are now 7 operators trained on the Mobicon and these staff are split over both shifts.

According to Mr Neal the Kagan Melbourne facility can now focus on Housekeeping, Stock Integrity and Accuracy.

"2003 was about measuring ourselves for change and we hit targets that were never reached before. We are now more organised, cleaner, safer and more efficient in everything we do thanks to the Mobicon." he said.

"The beauty of the Mobicon is that we can finally unload and load containers WHERE we want, WHEN we want and utilise our site to its maximum capabilities," Mr Neal said.

The Mobicon system was designed by Mr Tom Schults, and is 100% Australian designed, owned and operated.