Every year, containers of goods arrive relentlessly at distribution centres before being opened and tipped and stowed. Opening involves removing the seal, a bolt or bolts of steel that secure the latches of a freight container preventing the doors from being opened by thieves in transit. At a busy DC, this can be something that needs doing multiple times a day and, if you are using long handled bolt croppers for this job, the stress on the bodies of some members of your cargo reception crew can be excruciating.

The power to cut through a typical 12mm diameter mild steel bolt seal is immense, even with long handled bolt cutters. Both hands are needed to grip the handles and typically working above shoulder height puts great musculoskeletal stresses on arms and shoulders. When the bolt finally gives way, there can be sudden transfer of energy resulting in pieces of steel flying. With both hands using the bolt cutters, there is no defence from being hit by the metal fragments if they come your way, apart from wearing gloves and safety goggles. 

When things don’t go so well, it becomes a health and safety minefield.

Good quality long handled bolt croppers are quite expensive costing from £150 to £200, so it is tempting for Procurement to purchase less expensive ones that can cost as little as £40. Working out that if they break, two or three other pairs can be bought, and the firm still saves money. What procurement don’t necessarily factor in is what happens when they break. 

If the cutters break at the jaw, then more pieces of metal are likely to be flying around the operator’s head. When they break at maximum force, the operators’ fists gripping the handles are brought together with massive impact resulting in possible permanent damage to his or her hands. Cheap cutters blades will dull quicker thus requiring more force and increasing the likelihood of an accident. Working above shoulder height to remove bolts from a container on the back of a truck makes the chance of musculoskeletal injury much more likely.

Unisto has long been a designer, manufacturer, and seller of bolt seals for freight containers and was the inventor of the anti-spin bolt seal back in the 1990s to evidence that form of tampering. Working with organisations at both ends of the supply chain, those applying bolt seals and those removing them, it became clear what a problem safe removal can be.

As it turned out, there was already a firm that was making the solution to this problem and it was a German company specialising in equipment for the electrical industry, manufacturing electronic, hydraulic crimpers, applying connectors to high voltage electrical cables, Klauke. With the crimpers replaced by cutting blades, 12mm of mild steel could be sliced through in seconds at the press of a trigger. Now minimal strength is required by the operator and only one hand needed to manage the cutting tool, the other remaining free to control the bolt during removal to prevent any flying fragments.

Seeing an opportunity to create a kit to provide the goods inwards team with a safe method of bolt removal, Unisto gathered the components together in a neat carry case to improve efficiency as well as health and safety. The Unisto Bolt and Cable Seal Safety Cutter Kit comprises a Klauke EBS 12ML electronic powered hydraulic cutter, two rechargeable batteries and a battery charger, cable snips for removing cable seals (which can be used by shippers instead of bolt seals) safety glasses and rigger gloves for personal protection. All this held securely in a medium density foam liner inside the case.

Combining all the items in a single place is an aid to health and safety as, under pressure, it is likely that team members will remember to use personal protective equipment when it is there in the kit, whereas if they need to go searching for it, it is less likely that it will be used. Putting them at risk of injury.

At first, the Klauke cutter appears like it might be a dangerous tool. The cutter blades come together with a force of 4 tonnes, however it is an incremental cut that gradually closes the jaws on the bolt, rather than slamming closed; this completely avoids any risk to stray fingers. 

Being a high-quality tool, the blades are replaceable, and the cutter can be serviced and repaired at a UK-based service centre.

Devotees of Unisto’s Safety Cutter Kits become quite enthusiastic. A while ago, Hannah Frost, Health Safety and Compliance Officer at Dixons Carphone Group, commented, “The bolt cutters have been a revelation! They are very popular. Many people are sceptical before using them, but once used, they love them, literally. One manager really thought they wouldn’t make a difference, but recently admitted to me that they were excellent, safer, more efficient and another couple of managers were joking about the old days of using massive metal bolt cutters! – I’d say there were few things on campus that have had such an impact.” That’s quite an accolade. 

Another of the cutter’s many benefits is everyone can use them. Equal opportunities employers shouldn’t have to scour their staff looking for a macho body builder to remove seals from a container. Now this is a job that can be done by anyone.

www.unisto.co.uk