Advantages of a sideloader

By Gary T. Moore Industrial Truck Division Allis-Chalmers Corp. Matteson. Ill.

f HERE IS a general understand-

I ing that sideloaders are limited to -narrow aisle applications, allowing 40' or longer material to be stored in areas with access aisl'es'of only from 8'- 12'wide.

But sideloaders have a lot more to offer than just the ability to handle long loads in narrow aisles. Sideloaders can contribute to significant cost savings in several areas when the loads to be handled are longer than a standard pallet.

Managers can afford to ribbon stack long loads instead of traditional block stacking. Ribbon stacking means there is an aisle adjacent to every load space, providing immediate access to each space. This means no time wasted shuffling material around to get desired loads.

The cost savings? Less manpower required for a given amount of material throughput; or alternatively, more material moved with a given amount of manpower.

Some users are refining this even further by providing access to each load space and each load by means of canti-lever racks.

Mobile cranes are used to obtain load selectivity in storage areas. However, mobile cranes require two or three men for effective operation. Because their loads dangle from the cables, cranes must move slowly to avoid product damage or employe injury.

A sideloader, on the other hand, is operated by one man who both picks up loads and drives. And with its load securely sitting on a sideloader's deck, the vehicle can travel almost at road speeds.

The cost benefit is less manpower and faster operation.

A further cost saving evolving from ribbon stacking is a user's improved ability to rotate stock. Specificially, load shuffling for FIFO rotation is avoided as there is immedi ate access to each load space. Quick and simple stock rotation can be scheduled easily, helping to avoid stock obsolescence.

Whenever long loads must be brought from outdoor storage to indoor production areas, double handling and time consuming equipment interfaces may result.

Story at a Glance

Properly used a sideloader can save alot more than space in material handling jobs cost savings, benef its of ribbon stacking, long loads factors to consider for maximum machine benefits.

Few plant doors are wide enough for a standard forklift with a 20-ft or longer load. Usually long loads are pulled from storage by a crane or lift truck, placed on a flatbed or dollies, or picked up by a straddle carrier and carried indoors. Here the load is dropped, ready to be taken to a production area by overhead crane or forklift. The effect is costly double or triple handling.

A sideloader on the other hand, can retrieve long material from a ribbon storage area and carry it through relatively narrow plant doors and, in most cases, move it directly to production equipment.

The benefit is less manpower required, less mobile equipment to buy and maintain, and less chance of lost production time because material is waiting to be moved.

Carrying loads on long, relatively stable truck decks is a much more stable way of load handling than balancing loads precariously on lift truck forks or dangling them from mobile cranes. Some users have found loads on sideloaders to be so stable

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