Boost to site safety

Part of The Kraft Heinz Company, Heinz’s Kitt Green premises produces more than one billion cans of Heinz products every year. Growing sales and product innovations have kept the company’s loading bay industrious, and as such health and safety has always been, and remains, a key priority.

Graham Hollinghurst, project manager at the Kraft Heinz Company explains: “We started to research a new loading bay solution that would provide an even safer way for powered pallet trucks (PPTs) and their operators to access the rear of vehicles delivering dry and chilled ingredients. We also needed a better access solution for operators to load empty stillages.”

Hollinghurst and the team were hoping to improve the loading bay’s existing process of using a forklift truck and cage to give pallet trucks and operatives rear access to container vehicles. After initial research to identify apparatus improvements, Heinz began discussions with Thorworld Industries, and found that the Derbyshire-based designer and manufacturer had the capability to fulfil their loading bay requirements with a tailor-made solution.

Thorworld’s engineers used an assessment of the Heinz site and loading bay requirements to create a bespoke modular scheme to give access to shipping containers. A maximum incline of 6° was specified to suit the powered pallet trucks on site. The limited space available required an L-Shaped ramp / platform combination with a suitable turning area at the top of the ramp. Operator access to the dock leveller was provided via a set of access steps and a collapsible framed dock shelter included to prevent weather ingress.

The new dock leveller and platform fits within a wider set of improvements Heinz has implemented at its Kitt Green site.  Additions such as a separate mechanism to prevent HGVs from moving during loading, and the installation of a ‘portal frame building’ to house the new leveller and ramp have also been added - protecting both operatives and product lines.

Heinz has also replaced a 10,000kg dock leveller - used to enable larger fork lift trucks to unload tomato pulp - with new Thorworld apparatus. 

Hollinghurst confirms that all the Thorworld kit is functioning well and his team of operatives in the loading bay are impressed with the apparatus and its performance.  He agrees that the standard of both the equipment and the professional installation have been such that he would recommend Thorworld Industries to other organisations. 

John Meale, Managing Director at Thorworld Industries, concludes: “It’s terrific to hear that a company as reputable and internationally renowned as Heinz has chosen to invest in our loading bay apparatus in not one, but two areas of its UK operation."