Conveyor crossovers with alternating tread stairs provide OSHA-compliant facility access to the world’s largest independent bottler of beverages
Overview
The bottling lines in the Refresco facility created hard-to-access areas for their conveyor equipment operators; in some cases, the operators were having to walk an extended distance around the conveyors to get to their workstations.
Challenge
Refresco decided to add conveyor crossovers to provide the operators with easier access to their workstations. However, due to the confined spaces in the facility and the height of the bottling conveyors, crossovers with standard stairs would not fit.
Solution
After researching different stair and ladder options, Refresco decided crossovers with alternating tread stairs were the safest option for their application. The Refrescp operators did not have any prior experience using alternating tread stairs, but felt very comfortable with them within a few days of use and agree that climbing up and down feels much safers and easier than climbing a ladder.
Result
The operators can safely walk up and down facing the direction travel instead of having to turn around and back down like they would on a ladder. The crossovers with alternating tread stairs have reduced travel times for the operatore and help Refresco to improve their safety program.
