The benefit using Automatic Container securing systems on Railcars and Road Chassis

The biggest challenge we are facing in an ever increasing global population and its demand for clothing, food and other goods; all of which are supplied, at some stage in the supply chain, is transport via road, rail or both.

Some predications are that the number of megacities around the world is expected to increase from 22 today to between 60 and 100 by 2050. United Nations projects the world’s population to grow to an estimated 8.5 billion 2035 and 9.2 billion by 2050.

The impact of the growth in world population will see over two thirds of people living in cities, compared to about half in 2014. This will increase demand for transport, economic development and improved living standard. 

A key issue confronting the transport industry is how to achieve improved logistics performance which translates into a need for reduced operating costs and increase efficiency.

You can increase efficiency in container handling and reduce workplace injuries during loading and unloading of ISO containers.

In Australia, the total cost of workplace injury and illness to the Australian economy is approximately 5% of GDP. This is a significant cost to employers, workers and to the community. In the financial year 2005-2006 it was 5.9% or 57.5 billion Australian Dollars. 5% of this total cost is born by the employers, 74% by the workers and 21% by the community. This does not take into account damage to property or loss of company image.

Twist locks to lock down freight containers on ships, rail cars, road chassis and other carriers have been in use since the use of the ISO freight container started. It has always been important to know if the Twist lock is locked or unlocked.

Over the years, different types of locking devices to secure freight containers have been developed. Depending on the circumstances of the security required, two main types of Twist locks have been used, Location Cones and manual Twist locks.

Location cones do not provide vertical locking of the container on the carrier. The disadvantage of not having vertical locking on railcars has been acceptable because such locks do not require labor for locking or unlocking. This should be reconsidered because when using a Location Cone, empty freight containers are not vertically secured.

Motion simulations shows that railcars using location cones, a container can in some instances “fly-off”. It is therefore imperative that the container is properly secured. 

Positive manual locking devices provide locking of the container on the railcars or road cassis unless for some reason it does not get locked. Such locks are commonly designed as a stem with a rectangular upward pointed head called a shaft. They need to be either dropped or removed when you load a different length container.

After loading a container, the container is locked manually by turning the Twist lock shaft right or left, hence the name “Twist lock”. It is important to remember that both types are not used simultaneously as it will be impossibly to identify which Twist lock is locked or open. This can be detrimental. 

Operating manual locking Twist locks on railcars has been proven to be very labor intensive. For instance, a railcar fitted with 24 manual Twist locks to its rail car requires an enormous amount of time to lock these containers and is considered a major disadvantage such as poor productivity. There is a need for less time consuming systems. 

The number of different length containers increases the number of different load configurations that the securing system on the railcar or trailer chassis must be capable of handling. The locks must be retractable or removable, so that the correct number of locks are in the correct positions to suit a certain load configuration.

The alternative is a fully automatic system.

A fully automatic system that is designed to accommodate the need for positive vertical load and easy locking and unlocking during the use of different length containers on the same railcar or trailer chassis will resolve the above-mentioned issues. The system should permit maximum flexibility in loading different length containers on the railcar by providing many seating positions in which the Twist lock can be engaged onto the containers. 

The fully automatic system secures the containers at high speed and requires no manual handling. These systems will address all Occupational, Health & Safety concerns and reduce the number of accidents at the loading terminals.

From a truck driver point of view, work safety is paramount and this can be provided with an automatic system. In addition how much time does he save each time he picks up a container or drop one off? Add all of this together and put a monetary value on it and you will find that any investment in productivity and safety will show up on the bottom line.