Reel & Roll Handling
US safety development set to be standard handling truckfeature
When an American packaging company had a requirement for two Weston LV reel handling trucks to have an ‘EE’ safety rating, it led to the development of a new product that is said to improve the safety of electric pedestrian trucks by over 800 per cent
T
hat is the claim of award-winning reel handling truck designer and manufacturer, Weston Handling
Consultancy (WHC), for its latest innovation, the ACKPad (Anti-Crush Kick Pad). This is a continuous strip of rubber that contains a robust, continuous switch. If the pad is hit anywhere on its length, with more than 1kg of force, a connection is made. For powered pedestrian trucks fitted with the
ubiquitous Anti-Crush Button (ACB) on the Tiller Arm, connecting the ACKPad to the ACB dramatically improves the safety of the truck. The ACB is about 100-150mm2 and only protects the operator in one accident scenario, for example if they happen to reverse the truck into themselves with the tiller arm and ACB pointing directly at them. The ACKPad not only protects the operator when they come into contact at any point around the base of the truck, but it also protects other personnel and equipment. “It’s a win-win situation,” claims WHC managing
director, Stephen Weston. “We developed an Anti-Crush Kick-Plate, ACKPlate, to be fitted as an optional feature to all powered WHC reel and materials handling trucks.
The Weston LV Reel Truck with ACKPlate “The ACKPlate is a curved steel plate that fits
around the base of the truck’s chassis that ‘floats’ on a set of springs and pins. If it is hit, for example, by the driver hitting a pallet, the plate is pushed in against the spring’s tension and when one or more of the pins hit a switch on the inside, all of which are wired into the ACB on the tiller arm, the ACB is activated and the truck is stopped. It’s a system that has proved so successful that customers have asked if it could be retrofitted to their other pedestrian trucks.” However, the ACKPlate is a system that
requires a reworked base on the trucks, so WHC initially declined requests. That is until global paper and packaging company, Mondi, wanted to buy a fleet of RAMA Agility Trolleys from the company, but fitted with the ACKPlate. Weston came up with the ACKPad. Initial trials
were encouraging, he says, with the continuous switch being fitted into a moulded polyurethane pad. The only downside was that the moulding had to be custom made, which added cost and production time. But the system worked well and WHC began to offer the ACKPad as an option, along with the ACKPlate. It was at this point that a customer in the USA
The Weston Slitter Unload Truck with ACKPlate
had a change in requirements; it already had two 2,000kg Weston ‘LV’ Reel Trucks, fitted with the ACKPlate, but the company wanted to order two more with a higher electrical safety rating. This meant that all electrical components had to be such that they could not create a spark. The truck was relatively easy to design with all the internal electrical components sealed in, but the four switches for the ACKPlate, on the underside of the truck, posed a problem. The obvious solution was to fit an ACKPad, but
this would require new moulds to be made with new castings. Weston then hit upon using an existing extruded rubber section fitted with the continuous switch and then mounted into a standard aluminium section that would act as the base. The result was a quick-to-produce and easy-to-retrofit ACKPad, which could have the wiring connections sealed inside, complying with the EE requirements. Weston says: “It was a light bulb moment! All
the engineering required to build the ACKPlate into the truck and the fitting and wiring of four switches, was gone. What we had was an even simpler Anti-Crush system that was less expensive and easier to fit to other powered pedestrian trucks. It’s a brand new product line. “WHC is now offering the new ACKPad as a
standard feature, making these handling trucks the only ones in the world to do so.” Weston maintains that this is a great example of how experience, good design and a willingness to continually adapt to requirements, can take a single product and develop it into new lines and open up new markets.
www.stephenwestonconsultancy.com 34 34 June 2016 June 2016
www.convertermag.co.uk
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