Industry: Office Space Distributor Application: Handling Sheets of Glass Solution: Work Station Cranes with Q GForce ® 330 lb. capacity & Vacuum Lifter Provider: Gorbel Inc. An international distributor of sustainable, environmentally friendly office space had recently opened a new facility in the south, and was looking to optimize the safety of its employees in high risk applications. One of the first areas targeted was the receiving area for raw materials, which handles incoming sheets of glass. A typical sheet of the glass is 3 feet by 6 feet, and weight about 115 pounds. The sheets are brought in a large A-frames, and moved onto carts where they go on to be framed. Shipments are received a few times each week, with as many as 80 lifts required in a single shift and two workers required to do the lifting. It was clear to the management very early that there was too much at risk to leave the application as it was.

With facilities in other areas of North America, the company looked to similar applications for what was successful and what was not. “A very similar application in another facility used a crane as well, but they had a chain hoist to lift the glass. It was very slow, not smooth enough, and operators didn’t feel they had enough control to set the glass down gently. Eventually the workers pushed it off to the side.”

After seeing a demonstration of the unit, the company purchased an intelligent assist device with 330 pound lifting capacity and a remote mounted handle integrated with a vacuum lifter. The tooling allows a single user to grip the sheet of glass and tilt it into position. The range of motion of the device allows the users to keep a fast working pace and then very gently place the sheets onto the carts.

Since installing the intelligent assist device, the management is very satisfied with the results, and the workers were also very happy to have the new lifting method. There have been no injuries, improved productivity, and no product damage. “Worker safety was number 1, and that’s been successful. We were able to move the second worker to another operation which improves our productivity. And finally, when you’re handling glass you worry about damage – and we haven’t had any.”

is a proud member of the EASE Ergonomic Assist Systems & Equipment Council
of Material Handling Industry of America

600 Fishers Run Fishers, NY 14453-0596 Phone: 800/821-0086 Fax: 800/828-1808
Email: info@gorbel.com Website: www.gorbel.com