newsmakers
Want to install a vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)
in a Maryland warehouse or distribution center? Forget
it. It’s now illegal.
In a controversial move, the state has reclassified the
conveyors under a new subset of safety codes that govern the operations of freight elevators. The Maryland
measure effectively bars the installation of VRCs, which
are used to raise and lower goods and materials from
one level of a floor, mezzanine, or module to another.
Material handling interests opposed the move, arguing
that people never ride the systems and the equipment
meets appropriate safety standards as long as it’s been
properly installed and maintained.
The state in January tightened regulations on VRC
installations following an accident involving the equipment. The regulations make most current systems illegal
to install in Maryland and require new VRC equipment
to meet the same stringent requirements as freight
elevators. Manufacturers contend that because current
system designs cannot be easily changed to meet the new
requirements, the move creates costly and unnecessary
burdens for end users, conveyor manufacturers, material handling equipment dealers, and installation/service
companies.
Traditionally, VRCs have fallen under a
specific code set by the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers (ASME), a standards-set-ting organization. Virtually every state enforces
the ASME standards in writing regulations
governing the design, implementation, and
inspection of mechanical installations. Each
code is identified by a number that applies to a
particular technology; for example, one section
covers freight elevators, while another covers
conveyors.
Though other states are considering similar
measures, it is believed none has moved as
aggressively as Maryland. Still, conveyor manufacturers fear the trend toward stricter regulation might spread, eventually bringing other
vertical technologies, including spiral conveyors, vertical shuttles, inclines, and vertical lift
modules, under the elevator codes.
Ray Niemeyer, code specialist/nation-
al accounts for Milwaukee-based PFlow, the
nation’s largest provider of VRCs, said the
changes in Maryland go far beyond what is
needed to ensure safety. In addition, installation and
repairs might have to be done by licensed elevator main-
tenance companies instead of material handling techni-
cians and systems integrators, Niemeyer said.
Although the elevator industry has lobbied for these
and other new regulations under the guise of safety,
its real goal is to increase its business base, Niemeyer
told the Conveyor & Sortation Systems product section of MHI during the association’s spring meeting in
Charlotte, N.C.
The Conveyor & Sortation industry group is lobbying
to reverse the new regulations and fighting proposals
for tougher regulations in other states. The group says it
will work with state agencies to assure safety. However,
it wants the codes to reflect the type of equipment a unit
actually is.
—David Maloney
Maryland bars most vertical
reciprocating conveyors
go figure …
$3 million
Annual savings projected by 20 percent of large companies (those with 3,000 or more employees) that
have retooled their logistics processes for direct-to-store deliveries.
SOURCE: HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF 350 MULTINATIONAL
CONSUMER GOODS SUPPLIERS
New Jersey-based supply chain company NFI has announced the
grand opening of its DC in Kutztown, Pa. The 1,000,000-square-
foot facility expands NFI’s footprint in the Lehigh Valley and
will handle 40 percent of Ocean Spray’s global volume. …
Commercial real estate services firm Cushman
& Wakefield has sold for $3.5 million a
358,000-square-foot facility in East Texas,
Pa., that consists of 10 interconnected indus-trial/flex buildings. … UTi Worldwide Inc. has
opened a global hub in Houston that will
focus on serving the energy sector. … Flagler
Global Logistics, a worldwide logistics company, has broken
ground on the 98-acre Flagler Station Phase III project in South
Florida. Phase III includes 1. 7 million additional square feet of
industrial space at the location. … Southeastern Freight Lines,
a provider of regional less-than-truckload services, is opening
a new service center in Carencro, La., in response to growing
demand in the region.
ground breakers
CUSHMAN &
WAKEFIELD
