SCT Invests to Improve Safety

As part of its on-going commitment to improve safety on the terminal, SCT has invested £75,000 on a trial ‘padding platform’ on crane 3. This removes the requirement for men to be located in close proximity to the straddle carriers to insert and remove twistlocks from containers being loaded and discharged.

The platform is mounted on the waterside sill beam of the crane, with protected walkways around the sides, and safety ‘shelters’ at either end. The central area provides room where a ship’s gear box can be landed for storage of twistlocks.

‘State of the art’ laser beams automatically cut the lowering motion of the crane when the bottom of the container reaches the correct height above the gearbox for men to insert or remove the twistlocks. Similarly, the laser or light curtains automatically cut the lowering motion if a man should enter the padding area before the container has stopped moving.

The platform was first used successfully when working the forward bays of mv Maersk Durban on 19th July 2006.