A.C. van Herwaarden
Steel handling at N.V. Haven van Vlissingen - a new concept.
Masters thesis,
Report 2000.TT.5333, Transport Engineering and Logistics.
N.V. Haven van Vlissingen (HVV) handles over 4 million tons of cargo
annually. One of the major commodities handled are steel beams imported
from the UK and Ireland. HVV temporarily stores the steel units and looks
after the distribution of the units, which is mainly done by train and
truck. The present process used to handle the beams works, but HVV feels
that improvements could be made when the whole process is thoroughly
studied. In chapter 2 a thorough study is made of the present handling
process. HVV mainly uses fork lift trucks to handle and store the beams.
The main problems of the present process are found to be the inefficient
use of storage area, the productivity during unloading of ships and high
process costs due to excessive manual labour.
In chapter 3 an exploration is done of existing methods and equipment used
for handling steel units. Points of attention are the general handling of
steel units, the identification and the automated transport of the units.
Several visits were made to steel trading companies and manufacturers of
steel handling equipment. It was concluded that few systems are available
for handling beams in large amounts. In the second part of chapter 3 a
study is made of the possible scenarios and methods for improved handling
and storage process. It is determined that in order to create new
possibilities, cranes and special storage racks will have to be used.
Chapter 4 describes the conceptual design of a new method for handling and
storing the steel units. The concept uses automated transport in the form
of rolling tracks, rail carts and automatic stacking cranes. The relevant
design details are shown as well as calculations that were made. In
chapter 5 the cost estimate of the total investment sum is determined.
Also, the process costs of the new concept are compared to the present
situation. It is determined that the new concept can be more cost
efficient when the investment sum is discounted over at least 10 years and
the annual throughput of steel units is no less than 500.000 tons.
Reports on Transport Engineering and Logistics (in Dutch)
Modified: 2006.02.11;
logistics@3mE.tudelft.nl
, TU Delft
/ 3mE
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/ LT.