 Crown GPC 3000 picker. |
A line of low-level order pickers from Crown Equipment Corp and the LiftPod aerial work platform from a JLG Industries Inc subsidiary in Australia won top 2009 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA).
The new Crown GPC 3000 series of pickers for warehousing and logistic applications focuses on market needs in Europe, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Branded as LiftPod by JLG, the personal and portable platform can serve as an alternative to a ladder. Its enclosed platform offers a 360-degree range of motion.
Both entries won gold awards in the commercial and industrial products category.
Crown of New Bremen, Ohio and Formation Design Group Inc of Atlanta, Georgia collaborated on the order pickers, and JLG ProLift Pty Ltd in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and design-related firms worked on the LiftPod.
"A clear understanding of user process and exceedingly crisp design brought strong innovation to an existing product typology," says Joyce Bromberg, director of research for the WorkSpace Futures group at Steelcase Inc of Grand Rapids, Michigan and a juror in the awards.
Fellow judge Stephen Melamed, principal with Tres Design Group in Chicago, notes: "Crown has consistently demonstrated innovation for the targeted end user and a modern and well defined aesthetic for their visual brand language."
 The LiftPod aerial work platform. |
The same jurors critiqued the LiftPod, which has a working height of 14 feet (4.2 m) and can be assembled in less than 30 seconds.
"I appreciated the thought that went into the LiftPod," Bromberg says. "The fact that it can be assembled and moved by one person and is well priced (about USD2,000) offers users the safety of a product that ordinarily might be out of reach for them."
Melamed notes: "The LiftPod is an ingenious take on an age-old commercial problem. Creating a machine that can be transported and set up by one person makes this an ideal solution for a variety of applications. Developing a gearing system that can drive the cab up and down with a half-inch (12.5 mm) drill or a battery is extremely clever."
Models of the Crown order picker range in length between 7.75-14 feet (2.3-4.2 m) depending on the fork tines. The line's five models cost EUR9,700-15,000 (USD13,300-20,500), lift 1,200-2,000 kg (2,640-4,400 pounds) and entered the market in August 2007.
Crown perceived a challenge to create an order picker that would increase sales and marketshare. Comprehensive research focused on viewpoints of the warehouse manager, service manager and operator and involved analyzing the smallest details of order picking. The designers found that some operators were walking around or moving through the vehicle up to 90% of the time. The design results: an extra-wide operator compartment, large pick-position controls and work-assist accessories including a patent-pending fold-down step on each side and an X10 control handle for all truck functions.
By weight, steel constitutes more than 90% of the total content. Approximately 85% of that steel comes from recycled content. Molded pads and storage bins can be disassembled during a recycling process. The electric powered all-AC drive and lift systems improve energy efficiency, and the recyclable battery provides a zero-emission work environment for users.
Credits go to Crown's James Kraimer, Markus Graf, Jesse Wershing and Jay Pollack and Formation's Robert Henshaw, Phil Palermo, Russell Kroll and Mark Londborg.
The 145-pound (65.3 kg) LiftPod underwent trials in Australia, entered the US market in October 2008 and received other recognition as a
Buildings magazine top 100 product and International Awards for Powered Access product of the year.
JLG makes model D2 in Sydney and model D3 in Changzhou, China.
Credits go to Geoff Campbell, JLG ProLift managing director; Jason Watson, JLG ProLift development co-ordinator; and five people with suppliers in Sydney suburbs, Dr Hugh Lithgow Stark of Stark Pty Ltd in Kareela, Frank Fornasari, Sandy McNeil and Oliver Kratzer with Nielsen Design Associates in Hunters Hill and Mark Armstrong of Blue Sky Design Group Pty Ltd in Mascot.
Campbell says: "The design work started in mid-2004 with the goal of developing technology and products to compete with ladders and small scaffolds. More than 500,000 people require treatment for ladder injuries each year in the US so JLG was keen to invest in a low-cost portable alternative to ladders."
JLG Industries operates as the access equipment segment of publicly traded Oshkosh Corp of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The Industrial Designers Society of America in Dulles, Virginia organized the contest and disclosed the winners on 29 July. A panel of 20 designers and evaluators judged 1,631 IDEA entries from 37 countries to select the winners of 31 gold, 47 silver and 72 bronze awards.
BusinessWeek magazine, Autodesk Inc and Target Corp were sponsors.
Through the society's website, members of the public can choose from all IDEA winners for a People's Choice award. An awards ceremony be held on 26 September at a conference in Miami Beach, Florida.