A Resolute Forests Products sawmill received a safety award last month for a device developed by a supervisor and a mechanic at the mill to empty recycling bins. The company’s Girardville sawmill was the winner in the Innovation category by Quebec’s workplace safety agency, the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST).
The system for emptying wheeled bins developed at the at Girardville sawmill is a mobile frame that assists with lifting the wheeled bin.
The Resolute blog explains that previously, a worker had to empty five wheeled bins of recyclable materials into a container every week.
“To do this task, the worker walked along a raised walkway, which was frequently icy in winter, lifted the bins and tipped out the contents. The bins are heavy (weighing between 22.5 and 27 kg) and the worker struggled to tip them out. To facilitate the task, the handling device needed to be light, capable of keeping the bin in place, and capable of rolling on a gravel surface, which may be snowy or icy. As there was nothing on the market that fully met these requirements, a supervisor and a mechanic came up with a solution. At first, they thought they could simply adapt the retaining device, but after constructing several prototypes and making adjustments, they came up with a portable electrical emptying unit. This is a single device fitted with a fixed structure on two heavy-duty wheels, a mobile frame, a retaining system for the bin, an electric winch and a manual control.”
About A video demonstrating the device can be viewed on the CNESST website at: https://www.grandsprixsst.com.
Photo: Alain St-Gelais, ISO coordinator, Girardville sawmill, Resolute Forest Products, with the mobile emptying device.