DESCRIPTION
Garside Sands silica sand operation in Leighton Buzzard comprises of two sites that are split by a main road. Both sites use conveyor belts to move sands and, as with many bulk materials, there is always an element of spillage under the conveyors caused by either wet sand sticking to the belt, non-operating head or tail drum scrapers and build up on return rollers.
Some of the conveyors have been designed with little or no access for mechanical cleaning. The traditional way of clearing spillage from under these conveyors is with shovels, creating manual handling issues and putting employees at risk of serious back and lower body injuries.
To overcome this problem and following a lengthy evaluation of the sites' conveying systems, the on-site maintenance team designed and built a scoop. This was designed to fit onto a CAT Telehandler which could insert the scoop under the conveyor
and remove spillage. The arm of the telehandler providing further flexibility and reach.
The 'Scoop' was constructed from an old loader bucket utilising a CAT quick hitch attachment. This enabled the 'Scoop' to be easily moved around the site when required.
This project was a good example of the application of Aggregate Industries’ ACE (Agility, Collaboration and Empowerment) ethos, the implementation of a simple solution to an otherwise high risk area.
BENEFITS
- Reduced manual handling risks
- Employee led design and implementation
- Reduced plant down time
- More cost effective and timely spillage removal
- Concept can be adopted for use on other sites
- Safer working environment.