A school friendship has helped facilitate an innovation in the materials handling and transport equipment manufacturing sectors with scissor lifts replacing scaffolding as a safer and more efficient option at Queensland trailer manufacturer, Drake Group.

Buchanan Pinder, group maintenance supervisor with Drake, explains the company has introduced Toyota scissor lifts as a more flexible platform for the assembly of the more than 300 heavy-duty trailers it produces annually.

Chevy Date, Queensland major account manager with Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA), went to school with Pinder, and their shared passion for solution resolution led to the pair suggesting the scissor lifts as an alternative to scaffolding.

It's a first for The Drake Group and, according to the two collaborators, most likely a breakthrough in the use of scissor lifts in heavy machinery manufacturing.

“The industry standard for above-ground assembly is a scaffolding system,” Pinder explains. “Its use is limited in several areas. Firstly, in terms of its ability to provide close-up access to machinery under construction, requiring operators to lean out over open space to weld or affix components.

“The fixed scaffolding also means heavy equipment has to be physically lifted up to the platform from ground level, sometimes as high as 4m.

“Additionally, scaffolding has a life span, and it can become unstable over a period of use.”

Pinder adds that the alternative of using platform ladders is equally compromised, stressing that safety is a big issue in this kind of work.

The TMHA solution devised by Pinder and Date has replaced both methods with a fleet of four purpose-specified SC06E battery electric scissor lifts, which can be easily positioned alongside the trailer in construction, providing a stable work platform with far greater access to all components.

The SC06E has a width of 0.76m, making them suitable for manoeuvring the close aisle spaces on the Drake Group's partial assembly line. It can also be driven at full working height of 5.9m and maximum platform height of 3.9m, allowing the operator to move to new positions as required.

The Drake Group says its three separate facilities in the Brisbane area are now able to access the Toyota SC06E fleet on an as-required basis, eliminating the need for duplication of fixed scaffolding.

Of The Drake Group's 240 employees at its Wacol plant, more than 30 have completed VOCs (verification of competency) in order to use the scissor lifts.