Factors to be considered in vertical movement.

TM 38-400/NAVSUP PUB 572/AFMAN 23-210 MCO 4450.14/DLAM 4145.12

may be necessary to stack the material differently. In

SHORT HAULS

same cases tying or strapping is necessary to keep the

LONG HAULS

material from shifting.

PLATFORM SPACE

ROADWAYS AND FLOORS

(5) Width of aisles. Width of aisles, as

DOORS AND AISLES

mentioned in our study on LAYOUT, is important, since

it influences the type of equipment that can be used in

-"What do we mean by LONG and SHORT HAULS?"

the handling of material. The aisles and doors must be

LONG HAUL, OVER 400 FEET

wide enough to permit mechanical equipment to be

SHORT HAUL, UNDER 400 FEET

used; otherwise material will have to be handled by

-"How can the AMOUNT of PLATFORM SPACE affect

hand. For example: It would not be efficient to try to

your operation?"

use a 6,000-pound fork truck in 9-foot aisles. Trailers

-'"What trouble can you run into, if your ROADWAYS

and tractors cannot be used in 30-inch or even 36-inch

and FLOORS are not smoothly surfaced?"

aisles, which are sometimes found in loose issue rooms.

-"How does the WIDTH of the DOORS and AISLES

affect the job?"

b. Factors to be considered in vertical movement.

(1) Two types of movement. Our definition of

POINT OUT LIMITING FACTORS IN VERTICAL

materials handling states that there are two general

MOVEMENT

types of movement: HORIZONTAL and VERTICAL. In

-"There are CERTAIN CONDITIONS which LIMIT or

both of these types there are certain existing conditions

AFFECT the OPERATION in VERTICAL MOVEMENT."

which affect our materials handling operations. We

(LIST CONDITIONS on blackboard)

must understand them as they apply, not only generally,

but to a particular job. Failure to understand will

CEILING HEIGHTS

handicap the efficiency of the job and the type of

OVERHEAD OBSTACLES

equipment used.

TYPE OF MATERIAL

(2) Distance of haul.

In horizontal

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

movement, THE DISTANCE OF THE HAUL will have a

bearing on the type of equipment to be used. Is it a long

-"How do ceiling heights limit the operation?"

or a short haul? What is meant by a short haul? From

-"What overhead obstacles are likely to be found?

experience, we have come to apply the term "short

What regulations are related to them?"

haul" to any distance under 400 feet. Distances over

-"How does the type of material affect the operation?"

400 feet, hauling between warehouses or the length of

-'What safety precautions must be observed?"

one warehouse, have been accepted as "long hauls,"

(1) Ceiling heights determine the height to

usually, these distances are handled by tractor-trailers,

which we can stack and also constitutes a factor in the

trailer-trains, or straddle trucks. There is a difference, in

size and type of equipment that can be used in an

application of this rule, between long and short hauls in

installation. In a building that has a 15-foot ceiling, it

single-story and in multistory buildings, where the

would certainly be uneconomical to sacrifice the

elevator must be taken into consideration.

advantage of "full air rights" by using only forklift trucks

(3) Platform space. The amount of platform

with 9-foot materials lifting height.

space available for loading and unloading cars and

(2) Overhead obstacles such as trusses,

trucks is a determining factor in the method used. For

sprinklers, lighting fixtures, and skylights are all factors

example: Platforms may be too narrow for tractor-trailer

that affect vertical movement.

or conveyors; or they may be too narrow to permit the

(3) Type of commodities (the shape, size,

use of tractor-trailer trains in conjunction with a gravity

weight, and crushability) directly controls our method of

conveyor for unloading, sorting, and checking sized

handling as well as the height to which we can stack.

items.

(4) Size and capacity of elevators in

(4) Roadways and floors. If we plan to carry

multistory buildings are controlling factors in the

commodities any distance by means of mechanical

equipment used such as trailers, pallets, handlift trucks,

equipment, THE CONDITION OF THE ROADWAYS

OR FLOORS will determine the method used. In cases

where the roadways and floors are rough and uneven, it

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