| |
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF
MATERIALS-HANDLING EQUIPMENT
The best method for moving stores from one
location to another depends upon such factors as:
mechanical equipment available, number of personnel
available, distance of haul, terrain, required speed of
discharge or loading, storage space available, traffic
pattern, lighting (if at night), and commodities to be
handled. Each problem will be different; however, with
careful planning and consideration of the factors that
exist, workable solutions can usually be resolved.
OPERATOR QUALIFICATIONS
In order for you to operate materials-handling
equipment (MHE), you must possess a valid
authorization from the ship or station to which you are
assigned.
Ships and stations having MHE should have a
training and qualifying program (not covered in this
manual). A Storekeeper should seek to qualify for
operating the necessary MHE to perform the job
Successful y.
MAINTENANCE RESPONSIBILITY
On board ships, preventive maintenance service is
performed on all MHE by the “A” division for
mechanical functions and the “E” division for electrical
functions. Ashore, these responsibilities rest with the
public works department. The operator, however, also
has responsibilities.
Included with the operation of a vehicle are certain
inspections Required before starting the equipment. The
driver’s inspection should include checking lights,
horn, tire pressure (if pneumatic), oil, gasoline, battery,
hydraulic fluid level. They should also ensure that the
required tools and safety equipment are present on the
vehicle. An authorized mechanic or electrician should
be called to repair the equipment before further damage
or an accident results if any defects are noted.
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
Safety precautions must be observed in any
cargo-handling operation to keep accidents to a
minimum.
However, cargo handling aboard ship
requires more rigid safety precautions. Warehouses and
storage areas ashore are designed and arranged to
provide maximum use of materials-handling
equipment. This is not usually the case aboard ship.
Working space is much more confined, the use of
materials-handling equipment is limited. The ease,
speed, and convenience of cargo handling was not the
entire consideration when designing the ship.
Safety precautions are published separately for
activities ashore and for forces afloat. Those for
activities ashore are published under the title of
Department of the Navy Safety Precautions for Shore
Activities.
Safety precautions for forces afloat are issued by
systems commands, bureaus, and offices of the
Department of the Navy in the form of publications,
pamphlets, periodicals, and directives. The Chief of
Naval Operations publishes indexes of all Department
of the Navy safety precautions applicable to forces
afloat. These indexes are issued as OPNAV notices
with the subject classification number 5100.
Safety precautions are something you either know
and observe or you do not. There is no middle ground.
You cannot learn or use them halfway. Human lives
(yours and those of other people working around you)
and expensive equipment are at stake. Safety
precautions as discussed in this chapter apply not only
to the workers but to everybody in the vicinity of
potential danger.
A Storekeeper should be aware of and observe
safety precautions at all times. The following operating
safety rules for materials-handling equipment should be
observed:
Spark-enclosed or explosion proof electric (not
gasoline-powered) equipment must be used in
areas where gases, flammable liquids, and
ordnance material are stored.
Equipment should be kept free of excessive
grease accumulation at all times.
Special protective equipment should be used
when work involves explosives and
ammunition.
Equipment having gas-filled caps with special
safety features and with fine mesh screening
overexhaust pipe ends should be used.
Forklift trucks of all types should be equipped
with an overhead safety guard or steel.
Exceptions are permissible only when the
overhead safety guard either would increase the
overall height of the forklift truck or prevent the
operator from having freedom of movement.
13-14
|
