Hyster's modification allows for safe inspection

Hyster, together with depot operator Hamburg Container Service GmbH (HCS) in Hamburg, has developed a device aimed at simplifying empty container inspection. The device locks the containers to the forklift at a height of 1.9 m, allowing the checker to inspect the containers for damage from all sides, including the underside, without it having to be set down on a frame.

Safety rules in most countries prevent inspectors from examining the underside of the container when it is suspended from the mast, even when it is locked to twistlocks, so to inspect the underside, the container has to be set down on a frame. For a busy depot like HCS, with an inflow of around 500 containers per day, all of which have first to be inspected and assessed for damage, the time and fuel this requires mounts up.

Dr Roland Karnbach, managing director of HCS, first approached Hyster about the problem some two years ago and, following a series of experiments and trials, Hyster's Special Engineering Department (SPED) has completed the work on the new retaining device.

By hydraulically locking the container and spreader in addition to the twistlocks or side hooks at a height of 1.9 m, the Checker Device allows the inspector to walk safely around the container and have a much clearer view of the underside.

Hydraulic supports are welded directly onto the mast. These supports can be extended at the touch of a button and then locked to keep both the spreader and the container in place. A traffic light and an acoustic warning signal indicate to the checker that the spreader is fixed and the container stabilised. While in this 'inspection position', the driver can no longer move the container handler, which allows the checker to inspect all sides of the containers with ease.

Hyster delivered two H22XM-12EC machines with Checker Device to HCS last November and they have been in daily operation since. In due course, HCS may fit all its empty container handlers with the device.

The company receives technical and service support from Hyster's dealer in Hamburg, Norgatec.