Gangplank System Redesign

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Date
2016-12-07
Authors
Jaeger, Thomas
Lach, Jeffrey
Purtill, Cassandra
Vanderwees, Steve
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In this report, details of the gangplank redesign project initiatedby the client, Triple E Recreational Vehicles, are presented. These details include background information on the client, details of the issue they tasked the design team to solve, and the solution which the team created.Triple E RV, located in Winkler Manitoba, is a leading manufacturer of luxury Class B motorhomes which produced on an assembly line. These motorhomes are often called RVs. After assembling the bodies of the RVs, they are moved from one workstation to the next wherevarious components are addedto the top of the vehicle. Usingraisedscaffoldswhich flank the sides of the RV,multipleworkers install items such as trim, sealants, air conditioners, vents, decals, and many other componentson the roof. Some of the installed components are located near the front and rear of the vehicle which require a gangplank to bridge between the side scaffolds creating 360° access to the RVs roof. The current gangplank consists of a platform supported bysolid6 inch aluminum channels which are manually lifted overhead into and out of placeby two workers.The lifting process is of concern as there is a chance the workers could injure themselves when lifting the 66 lbs gangplank over their heads. When installed,the gangplankblocks the lane which the RVs use to move from workstation to workstation; therefore,the gangplanks must be removed each time the assembly line advances.The objective of this project wasto developa newgangplank system which couldbe deployed safelyby one person toreduce labor resource requirementsand to prevent injury from overhead lifting. The new design needed to complete these objectives while maintaining the existing gangplank’s functionality.After investigating various solutions,the V-Fold design was determined to be the optimal configuration. This design has two connected bridge portions that fold out of the way during workstation moves.The first and second bridge portion are 1639 mm and 1061 mm long, respectively. The width of the bridge is 609.6 mm, 24 inches,wide. The design is attached to one side of the scaffolding and mounted 460 mm away from the edge. The bridge portions use two 4x1.5x0.25inchC-channels as the main under deck supports frame designed to a minimum safety...
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