"Excuse me, I've got a large machine in the van to deliver to your address - can you give me a hand to off-load it?"
This used to be a familiar request from installers/engineers who turned up without a mate or without any mechanised means of handling heavy and unwieldy loads at the point of delivery. Today it would be outlawed.
So how do you overcome this thorny problem? Tail lifts are expensive and limited to handling in and around the delivery vehicle, sack trucks do nothing to alleviate the physical stress of general manoeuvring in restricted areas, and taking a mate or two along is expensive and does little to ensure conformance with modern health and safety legislation.
Problem Solved
Leading Beverage and Cooling System suppliers IMI Cornelius of Brighouse, Yorkshire, whose engineers are constantly required to deliver chillers, water coolers and other dispensers weighing anything up to 100kg each found an ideal solution in a PowerMate POGO stairclimber from Stanley Handling.
The POGO vaguely resembles a sack truck and looks like a pogo stick when it's operating but that's where the resemblance ends. The unique unit is based on a robust aluminium frame. The wheels operate as a fulcrum point which, together with an extending support leg enables the machine to balance and power loads in and out of vehicles, up flights of stairs, round landings, over thresholds to and from the point of delivery. The operator is in complete control throughout the handling operation, increasing safety and saving manpower through one-man deliveries.
To quote IMI's Health and Safety Co-ordinator Peter Sands, "The POGO has increased the efficiency of our engineers and made deliveries much safer. We no longer send them out in pairs and have avoided unnecessary return journeys on those occasions when we didn't and where no-one was available to help unload."
Indispensable
IMI carry out deliveries and servicing throughout the UK, with customers as diverse as fast food restaurants, major pub, bar and retail outlets and leading hotels and restaurants where just about every conceivable delivery environment is encountered. "Without the POGO, which we deploy for upwards of 90% of our deliveries, there's no way we could meet the current handling legislation" adds Peter Sands.
The POGO is compact enough to travel on-vehicle and can be supplied with an on-board charger to extend the range and frequency of vehicle operation. Maximum height deck/dock is 840mm and the overall weight is just 31kg. 200mm diameter pneumatic tyres ensure smooth shock-free movement. Other standard features include a felted strap bar and 3m strap, a load hold clutch which enables the unit to be held unattended in a static position, swing wheel brakes, a gel-filled leak-proof battery and a single phase electronic charger.
POGO is one of a family of stairclimbers available from Stanley Handling which includes the includes L Series (capacity 295kg), LE Series (capacity 318kg), M Series (capacity 680kg), SC Series (capacity to 310kg) Sprinter Series (capacity 140kg).
As is the case with all PowerMate products, operator training and three-year refresher training formed part of the commercial package since training and routine servicing are essential elements in meeting relevant Health and Safety manual handling requirements.
For more information, please contact :
Mark Stanley at mark@stanleyhandling.co.uk or tel 01582 767711 fax 01582 765994