Keep Things Moving, Part I

By Kevin M. Padden

One of the real backbreaking jobs in a fabrication shop is where a lot of people start, as “laborer” or “helper.” He (or she) does the brunt of the bull work in the lifting of raw and finished materials. Without them, you (as a fabricator) can’t go very far in a day without having to stop and help lift a slab or a piece in fabrication, and your production comes to a standstill.
Many of us are relying on the good-ol’ brawn factor in moving slabs and pieces around our shops to get by from day to day. Sooner or later, nature gives a wake-up call and says – “Hey pal… you’re not going to lift this piece of stone all by yourself anymore.”
You suddenly realize that you’re not 18 anymore, and not quite “ten-feet-tall and bulletproof,” either. It’s at this terribly humiliating point that lifting systems start to look really attractive to you –kind of like that un-affordable Chevy Corvette looked to you when you were 18.
The other wake-up call is usually on the way to the hospital, either because you or an employee got hurt on the job from trying to lift something that’s too heavy. Besides all of the physical pain you and your employees must endure, there is also the financial pain of paying out higher workers-compensation costs and lost time on the job. And then there’s the time lost for fabrication and “running behind” on the install of a project because “so-and-so” got hurt two days ago.
By employing some common sense in lifting and moving of heavy items, you’ll save money and time in the long run. When planning your shop, or anticipating an expansion, you can start with some basic elements and work up from there.
The first thing you’ll need to consider is a good forklift with a boom assembly. When it comes to this fundamental piece of equipment, there are a few things that you should look at besides the price – either for purchase or monthly lease. How much slab weight will you be lifting? When will you start to lift full bundles of 2cm or 3cm slabs?
On average, let’s remember that 2cm slabs weigh 15 lbs ft², and 3cm slabs weigh 22 lbs ft². This means that a 2cm slab, with an average 50 ft² of surface area – will weigh 750 lbs, and a 3cm slab with the same surface area will come in at 1,100 lbs.
Then let’s factor in that many slab suppliers are now sending out product that’s larger than the old 63” x 110” standard size. I’m seeing more slabs that are 75” to 78” tall by 118” to 122”, which equates to a whopping 59-60 ft² per slab. Now, that single 2cm slab will weigh 900 lbs, and a 3cm slab can top out at 1,320 lbs.
The next thing to remember is that it’s time-consuming to unload one slab at a time from a delivery truck (or, for real self-service, your trailer), so planning for your forklift to grab multiple slabs is going to be critical for time management in the long run.
Most slabs are shipped in bundles of eight to ten slabs in 2cm, and seven to eight slabs in 3cm. This increases your lift load to 9,000 pounds for a 2cm bundle, and (get ready for this one) 10,500 lbs for a 3cm bundle. I’m sure you’ve handled bundles that weigh less, but here’s the deal – if you plan for a heavier lift, you’ll always be able to pick up lighter loads.
This all goes back to planning, planning and planning. Here’s a case in point: I know a fabricator with an immaculate shop facility, where he spared no expense in machinery. He installed an overhead crane to lift single 2cm thick slabs to his bridge saw, and cut-up pieces to polishing machines. (You probably already know where I’m going with this)
His business soared, and he enjoyed great success in a relatively short period of time of two years. When the day came that he started doing 3cm thick slabs, his overhead crane still lifted single slabs … but he realized that his crane wasn’t equipped to lift 3cm bundles, because he never planned on lifting bundles of anything that heavy.
In the end, my friend found a deal on a 6-ton forklift to pick his 3cm bundles off of delivery trucks. The moral here: If you plan for your needs today, your growth will only be limited to what you can do – today.
After working out forklift needs, your next area of consideration is where you cut your slabs. Many new fabricators can’t afford a big expense of $35,000-$70,000 on a fixed bridge saw, so they utilize a less-expensive method of smaller Skil-saw type cutting. A portable hand-saw-type cutting area is what many new shops use, but sooner or later a fixed bridge saw is a reality.
When looking at bridge saws, an important planning issue is adding a tilting saw bed to the package. Although it’s usually offered as an option, most fabricators will tell you it is well worth the increased cost.
The biggest advantage of having a tilt bed is that you can set a slab on it (when the bed is tilted up to a 70° to 80° tilt). The slab rests on supports that, when the bed is returned to a flat position, can be removed. With a little mojo, the slab can be pushed around on the bed if you have to position it – generally, when you do your best Arnold Schwarzenegger imitation.
Without the tilt-bed option, you’ll end up learning the fine art of manually tilting a slab from the floor to the bed. Most experienced fabricators will agree that, once you see a slab snap and shatter, the risk of injury or death reminds you that the extra charge to pay for a tilting bed is well worth the price.
Next month, we’ll look at overhead cranes, jib cranes and vacuum-lift equipment and how these items can s-t-r-e-t-c-h your vertitility. Until then – happy fabricating!
Kevin M. Padden operates KMPadden Consulting in Phoenix.

This article first appeared in the August 2003 print edition of Stone Business. ©2003 Western Business Media Inc.