After London's 275 tube stations have closed their doors to the last of the late-night revellers and those enjoying less social working hours, the London Underground springs back to life as an army of maintenance staff invade the platforms and tunnels beneath the city.
Under the Government's Public Private Partnership, Metronet Rail is one of the two infrastructure companies - or infracos - charged with the maintenance and renewal of London Underground's assets. Operating as two divisions, Metronet Rail BCV and Metronet Rail SSL, the company is responsible for rolling stock, stations, track, tunnels and signals on nine of the twelve lines that make up the London Underground.
Access at many stations for heavy equipment, materials and spare parts required for maintenance and engineering work is restricted and moving materials to and from different locations has often been a logistical headache for the workforce. With work sites sometimes poorly lit, dirty and potentially dangerous, the task is no less a concern for health and safety officers who already aware of the physical demands of the job.
One company that has been able to make a significant contribution to the handling of materials and equipment below ground is Hertfordshire-based Stanley Handling. Best known for their class-leading range of pallet handling equipment, work positioners and bespoke 'special applications' handling equipment, their range of powered stairclimbers are being introduced by Metronet for use on the London Underground contracts.
Stanley Handling's Stairclimber Training Manager, Steve Searle, takes up the story: "After seeing our PowerMate model in service with Tube Lines (London Underground's other maintenance and engineering contractor), Metronet approached us to see if we could help them. We were shown how certain tasks were carried out so as to fully understand what was required and we were able to suggest solutions as to how the demands of both more efficient and safer handling might best be met."
Traditionally, parts, tools and equipment were handled manually to and from working areas by maintenance and engineering personnel, very often up and down long flights of steps. Metronet's Enoh Itejere explains: "I have seen some old photos at Head Office of work on the Underground dating back to the thirties and forties. It seems that the equipment and the way the materials and equipment were moved hasn't really changed a great deal since then. Heavy or cumbersome items just required more manpower."
In view of this and the extremely rigorous attitude of both London Underground and Metronet to matters concerning health and safety, when Stanley showed them the PowerMate 'L-Series' powered stairclimber there was an immediate recognition that this could be the perfect solution to many of the issues facing them.
PowerMate stairclimbers 'do what it says on the can' in that they enable a single, trained operator to move items weighing, depending on the model, up to 680kgs up and down stairs, right to the delivery point. A self-contained electric motor, powered by an on-board battery, drives a pair of wheeled legs which lift the unit up and over each step. Unlike the triple-axled manual truck often used for deliveries, PowerMate provides the motive power enabling substantial loads to be transported with minimal effort and in much greater safety.
In addition to the primary function as stairclimbers, PowerMate also operates as a mobile tail lift, able to load and unload vehicles or docks with deck heights of up to 840mm. This makes PowerMate a perfect solution for tasks where goods or equipment need to be loaded, unloaded, moved and delivered to point of use, particularly where external handling facilities are not available.
The versatility and functionality of Stanley Handling's stairclimbers has led to their adoption across a broad range of industry sectors. PowerMate and the lighter Sprinter models are now being used to handle products as varied as drinks, white goods, computers and office equipment, vending and gaming machines, safes and ATMs, electrical switchgear and motors and HVAC units.
As a postscript to the story, Stanley Handling was among a small number of key suppliers invited to take part in Metronet's annual 'in-house' safety conference in November of this year. Some 200 managers, engineering, maintenance and health and safety staff from the company met to hear about developments and to look at some of the solutions the company was introducing to help them work 'smarter' and more safely. PowerMate attracted a great deal of attention and is set to be introduced even more widely under the streets of the capital.
For more information, please contact :
Sarah Stanley at sarah@stanleyhandling.co.uk or tel 01582 767711 fax 01582 765994