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[Js eful [jint —S ——aaeee —T == BS dling is the title of an article in the monthly labor review for February published by the bu- reau of labor statistics, United States department of labor. This article by Dr. Boris Stern is based on an elabo- rate research into the handling of various commodities. The first commodity is that of case oil which is refined oil in five gal- lon containers packed in uniform boxes two containers per box. Three methods are used in load- ing case oil. The first method used in San Francisco and in New York in loading from lighters to ship dif- fers very little from the usual han- dling of general cargo. Ship’s gear is used exclusively and two winches and two falls are used for each hatch. Cases are lifted on platform or airplane slings aboard the ship and into the hatch by a joint operation of the two winches and there stowed into the hold of the ship. San Francisco shows an average of 825 cases or 31.2 long tons per gang hour and 49 cases or 1.86 long tons per man hour while New York shows an average of 857 cases or 32.5 long tons per gang hour and 45 cases or 1.71 long tons per man hour. E ABOR productivity in cargo han- Using Ship’s Gear to Load HE second method, used at the i Berea of Philadelphia and New York also utilizes ship’s gear. In Philadelphia three falls are em- ployed, one for lifting the case oil slings from the apron of the pier to the deck of the ship along a system of platforms. When the sling load is landed on the deck a special deck man releases the hook of the pier falls dropping it back on the pier for another sling load. Another deck man attaches the hook of one of the two up and down hatch falls to the sling load on the deck of the ship and the oil is loaded into the hatch and then stowed in the ship by men in the hold. In New York the pre- vailing Burton system is used ex- cept that the refineries supplies one Winch and winch operator for lift- ing the case oil from the pier to the deck of the ship. While the sling load is still being lifted from the pier to the ship and before it is land- ed on the deck the Burton man throws the hook of the up and down falls around the sling load so as to attach it to the load. By starting the ship’s winch the sling load is then moved athwartship and is low- ered into the hatch. In both New York and Philadel- STITT muni nnn HIS page is being devoted to short items on all matters having to do with the more efficient turn- around of ships. These items are in- tended to be of a helpful nature. We will welcome for this page brief descriptions, illustrated if possible, of any better or safer way of perform- ing any function in cargo handling. Also, any questions submitted will be answered by the editor. MMDUUACGUUUUGREAOUUEENNGUUEEEANUUUCCUMEOUUUCECUOUUTEEUENUUTNOUUUUO TUG UCU A ANU phia longshoremen loading case oil are especialy trained for this work. The gang used in Philadelphia av- erages about 23 men while the New York gang averages 17. The pro- ductivity per gang in Philadelphia is higher than in New York. Since in both ports only two hatches can be loaded at one time greater ship dis- patch seems to be obtained at Phil- Loading Case Oil with Spiral Conveyor at New Orleans. adelphia than at New York. On the other hand the output per man per hour seems to be larger in New York than in Philadelphia. In New York the average output per man per hour is 2.95 tons or 78.2 cases while in Philadelphia it is 2.65 tons, 73 cases. Using Conveyors for Loading HE third system of loading case oil is used at the refineries of Port Arthur and New Orleans. Here cases are delivered to the pier from the warehouses of the refineries by belts and gravity rollers. The piers at the refineries are equipped with specially built spiral conveyors which are lowered into the hold of the ship by a crane supported by a mov- able tower which travels on rails along the entire length of the pier. By gravity rollers the individual cases are delivered to the conveyor MARINE REVIEw—May, 1931 and then down into the hold of the ship. The base of the spiral con- veyor is equipped with a ring of gravity rollers and the individual cases upon leaving the spiral con- veyor are diverted along the several short lines of gravity rollers scat- tered throughout the hold of the ship. The only work performed by the longshoremen consists of rig- ging the ship and removing the cases as they come from the rollers and stowing them in the hold. Only one conveyor is used at the refinery in New Orleans while at Port Arthur there are two similar spiral conveyors and it is therefore possible to load two hatches simul- taneously. The speed of loading is limited only by the ability of the men to remove the cases from the conveyor and to stow them in the ship. <A single conveyor can supply Inside Hatch a ship with 4000 to 4500 cases per hour but the actual quantity stowed is considerably below this capacity. When the survey was made in New Orleans in 1927 on which this article is based the spiral conveyor at the refinery had been used for only a short time and the statistical data for this port are based on a small number of ships and for a shorter period of time than in the case of Port Arthur. In Port Ar- thur the productivity of labor is more stabilized with an output for the two lines averaging 2029 cases or 76.2 long tons per gang per hour and 88.2 cases or 3.31 long tons per man per hour. For New Orleans the average productivity per gang hour is 1823 cases or 68.2 long tons per gang per hour and. 55.3 cases or 2.07 long tons per man per hour. 53