Vacuum lift cleans up at Draper Tools

Warehouse manager Keith McLean wanted to improve ergonomics of the goods-in process, which receives up to eight containers each day, containing 9,600 cartons of goods of various sizes and weights. The process was manual, with four or five people working in the container to sort and palletise the stock. He approached lifting equipment specialist Vaculex, which arranged for Draper personnel to visit a site and see vacuum lifting in action. Says McLean: "The benefits of using Vaculex ParceLift were very clear. Previously when a delivery arrived we had to rely on four or five men unloading trucks – in variable temperatures and tiring and cramped conditions. With the new equipment in place, the Vaculex Parcelift at the front of the boom conveyor is used by one operator to load cartons on to the conveyor. Boxes are transported out of the container on a flexible conveyor to an open area covered by two Vaculex VP units on overhead movable booms." Operators can now work in a clear area and sort SKUs by using the Vaculex equipment to lift and move boxes from the conveyor. "It has proved, as we expected, to be very efficient and safe in operation. It all works a treat and has transformed our operation," says McLean.