52 BAGGAGE HANDLING
GROUND HANDLING INTERNATIONAL APRIL 2013 Taking the strain
Increasing passenger numbers and a demand for higher operational efficiency and capacity requires new thinking in baggage handling. How can airports cope with increased demand without putting more pressure on the baggage handling system and the working environment?
usculoskeletal disorders, known in more common parlance as back injuries, sprains and
strains, have long been recognised as a serious problem among workers in many industries, and we have commented on the problem within these pages in the past. In the air transport industry it is no secret that the majority of these injuries afflict baggage handlers and result from the manual handling of baggage and cargo. This high level of injuries to ground handlers is clearly undesirable and ought to be reduced.
Many of the factors that cause these injuries, however, are beyond the control of the airport or baggage handling company. For example, there is the reality of the cramped conditions in an aircraft hold about which nothing can be done. Elsewhere, the environment seems equally difficult to mitigate, such as the actual situation in the baggage halls. Other factors include the weight of the loads being handled and the use of appropriate equipment and lifting aids; here, though, it is somewhat easier to take remedial action. To some extent the problem of excessively heavy bags has been alleviated by an IATA recommendation which specifies a 23 kilogramme limit for each item, and indeed in the recent past this policy has been adopted by many airlines. IATA also recommends that a simple label be affixed to a bag heavier than this limit as a warning to the handlers of what to expect when they are lifting this item. This is because injuries are often caused by a handler lifting or pulling a single, unexpectedly heavy bag. However, these are really only short- term solutions and to bring about a real improvement, it will be necessary for airports and ground handlers to invest in more specialised equipment and lifting aids. This will help bridge the gaps between the main elements in the handling process, namely the aircraft, the airport and the handling equipment, an area to which there has traditionally been little consideration given.
A solution to the problem
Developments in this regard have been made by the BEUMER Group, a leading global supplier of baggage handling,
sortation and materials handling solutions, which in late 2012 acquired the majority shares of Indec Airport Automation, which was headquartered in Bree, Belgium. The enterprise was subsequently renamed BEUMER Innovation and Automation. With BIAA’s ergonomic and cost-efficient solutions for simplifying baggage handling processes, the move has enabled Crisplant, which is a part of the BEUMER Group, to offer a full range of hitherto unseen baggage handling products and systems designed for handling loose and containerised baggage in the baggage make-up hall. This marks a major change in an area of the airport where in the past developments have tended to be sporadic and often too complicated or costly. BIAA’s solutions have therefore brought a completely new approach to the subject. BIAA’s range of products has enabled Crisplant to provide automated, semi- automated and even simple, manually operated lifting aids for baggage to all types of airports, from small regional facilities to the largest international hubs. Based on proven processes in the automotive industry, the BIAA systems enable airports to reduce manual lifting and provide healthier and safer working conditions for employees; moreover, they allow the possibility of optimising a number of the baggage make-up processes. According to Dirk Fransen, the General Manager responsible for operations at BEUMER Innovation and Automation, a long standing problem with these types of lifting aids has been that baggage handlers are often reluctant to use them, since they have historically been too complicated or time-consuming to employ.
“After a while they simply stop using them and go back to their former labour-intensive methods,” he says. “In addition, because they are simple in design and use, our solutions are a very affordable investment compared with other systems that have been developed for the baggage hall.”
Benefits of the application
The major operational benefit of these tools is that they enable baggage
handlers to move away from repetitive work and heavy lifts, towards a machine operating or supervisory rôle. Indeed, users can expect up to a 60% reduction in space and resources, depending on the layout for the handling of ULD baggage, as a direct result of automated handling. In addition, less human interaction with baggage minimises the possibility of injuries, human error and subsequently results in fewer mishandled bags. The full range of systems for baggage loading and unloading all share the common feature of being designed expressly to improve baggage handling efficiency. One item, for example, is the Baggage Loader, which is a horizontally (in both dimensions) and vertically adjustable platform that bridges the gap between a conveyor and a container. “It greatly eliminates manual handling in these operations,” says Dirk Fransen, “and enables the operator to lift standard-sized baggage from the make-up position and load it into any type of container or trailer, at a rate of 300 bags an hour.” He goes on to point out that although a handler can move a single bag from the conveyor to the container more quickly, albeit but much less safely, without the Baggage Loader, in the course of a shift it makes no difference to the total amount of work done. “The beauty of the system is that it intelligently divides and balances the workload between the resources, in other words the make-up positions, so that the handlers can work more steadily and safely, instead of having to cope with fluctuating bursts of activity. They get just as much work done and ergonomically it’s much, much better,” he says. Another item of equipment, which can be used in conjunction with the Baggage Loader, is the Baggage Lifting Table. This serves as an extension to the chutes where baggage accumulates for make- up. Dirk Fransen explains its operation: “Bags travel down the chute and on to the ball table that forms the upper surface of the Baggage Lifting Table. The operator then pushes a button, and the table lowers to below the height of the barrier at the end of the chute, preventing further bags from falling on to the table. The bag can then easily be slid on to the table and into a container. It’s a really simple way of reducing manual handling, with the operator having to
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