Rank: Forum user
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My client has just taken posession of a £6.5 million pound warehouse facility, they have three loading docks with dock levellers, but a recent accident has raised concerns regarding the loading yard where vehicles reverse up to the loading docks. Due to the yard sloping down towards the dock, the trailers and containers are not level. The tractor unit ends up on the slope, so there is no way to level the trailer. Whilst unloading boxes that had been loaded individually by the supplier (middle east) into the 40' container, the packages which were leaning towards the rear doors, collapsed, knocking the an employee to the ground, luckily he's wasn't seriously injured. My question is under CDM surely this should have been considered during the design stage and if so has my client grounds to to expect it to be changed. Is there any standards that would apply.
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Rank: Super forum user
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The design would follow a brief. If your client gave the brief what did they tell the designer?
Did they for example mention hand filled containers? Did they mention what was in the container?
OR more likely did they just say "we want to off load container vehicles"?
The devil is in the detail - if the delivered design does not match the brief then there would be a contractual obligation to set things right.
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Rank: Super forum user
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The design would follow a brief. If your client gave the brief what did they tell the designer?
Did they for example mention hand filled containers? Did they mention what was in the container?
OR more likely did they just say "we want to off load container vehicles"?
The devil is in the detail - if the delivered design does not match the brief then there would be a contractual obligation to set things right.
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2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
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Rank: Forum user
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I'll check with my client, as I know he raised the issue of the sloping yard, but not sure why. Also my client wasn't the CDM client, as that was the developer of the industrial estate. But as you say there should have been a btrief or spec.
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Rank: Super forum user
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You can already imagine the conversations that took place between the parties involved We want a 3 bay loading area.
Yes, we know there is a slope across the site.
If we have a level site for vehicles at the load point, we will have to move X000 tonnes of soil to level across the wider access area at £lots for every metre you extend from the bay.
Oooh, in that case, lets settle for a slight levelling and a near level site at the load point... no one will mind and it will be ontime and in budget.
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Rank: Forum user
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Is there a standard for loading docks and approaches for designers to work to. Surely they should consider the types of vehicles, length of vehicles etc.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Lots of information on the internet but you wont find a document that specifies the approach must be flat
Edited by user 07 October 2019 07:37:55(UTC)
| Reason: Clarity
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Rank: Super forum user
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Lots of information on the internet but you wont find a document that specifies the approach must be flat
Edited by user 07 October 2019 07:37:55(UTC)
| Reason: Clarity
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I'm on site next week, so will speak with the developer and PC and see if I can find what their brief was, but Acornsconsult is probably right, we want three loading docks. My consern is the client has only been in the premises four weeks and had one accident due to the slope, so need to come up with a solution before a more serios accident happens. Wonder whether the concrete close to the doc could be raised so the vehicle is level when reversed up to the dock; will have to look at the heights of all possible vehicles using the docks, which fortunately has a dock leveller.
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Rank: Super forum user
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A few other questions could include: 1) Why loose stowed when correctly palletised saves time and employees backs? 2) Were the individual packages suitable for hand stowage in strength & dimension? 3) Were the packages interlocked or merely brick stacked? "Cost effective" organisations have a tendency to eliminate pallets to save the cost and fit more in the container, look for off the shelf packaging (so poor fill & low strength) and brick stack as it is easier and quicker for unskilled labour.
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Rank: Super forum user
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A few other questions could include: 1) Why loose stowed when correctly palletised saves time and employees backs? 2) Were the individual packages suitable for hand stowage in strength & dimension? 3) Were the packages interlocked or merely brick stacked? "Cost effective" organisations have a tendency to eliminate pallets to save the cost and fit more in the container, look for off the shelf packaging (so poor fill & low strength) and brick stack as it is easier and quicker for unskilled labour.
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I have undertaken a detailed manual handling risk assessment of the hand balling of boxes from containers using the MAC tool, which identified a significant risk; this included measures to reduce the risks, including palletised boxes. Interestingly all boxes coming from the EU are palletised (probaly due to the Manual handling directive), but all those coming from China, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Myanmar (no manual handling legislation) are packed in quite tightly. Also they get more in when packed in individually. I have also recommend slip mats which the client is seriously looking into. Another oprion is a conveyor system to reduce bending and twisting. The box stacking varies but usually brick stacked tightly. I spent 15 minutes unloading boxes by hand, and it was hard work. There is always the risk of the boxes becoming loose, and the sloping yard makes it more likely they could topple.
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Rank: Super forum user
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A bit off topic but I am in philosophical mood: the effect of different Health and Safety laws and cultures at the ends of a supply chain. In the EU, where manual handling rules apply all of the items in containers are palletised and easier to handle safely, while in those places, without any such rules (any Health and Safety rules?) are hand packed which takes longer but labour is cheaper there and you can get more stuff in the container. Any other such examples? I know that when transporting plants, certain countries will fumigate the materials so that they can get the phytosanitary certificate to import into the EU but they are not that bothered about the health implications of saturating a container with some pesticide.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Rank: Super forum user
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