Conveyors present a cost effective solution to providing access to all levels of a building by requiring minimal floor space. They have been used for manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, food processing, mezzanine lifts and pallet lifts. In addition to their application across a broad range of commercial and industrial sectors, they offer a number of configurations for different functions.

Their advantages include:

• Expendable, reprogrammable equipment.
• Open or enclosed load platform.
• A wide variety of enclosures.
• May be configured for use in sanitary settings such as hospital food service, sterile supply environments and clean rooms.
• Optional fire rated access doors and UL rated controls.

Different Types of Systems: Vertical Material and Cart Handling

Vertical material and cart handling systems are designed for large scale, high-speed delivery of heavy or bulky materials and can be designed for low, medium, or high-rise applications that need to make high-speed transfers. Carts may be manually loaded or provided with automatic loading and unloading equipment. They are powered hydraulically, by winding drum, or by traction, and are regulated by either conveyor safety ASME B.20.1 or ASME 17.1 elevator code.

• Doors can be manually operated swing type, power, or manually operated vertical bi-parting type hoistway doors.
• Car sizes up to 36-inches wide x 72-inches front to back x 80-inches high.
• Fire-rated hoistway, pit, and machine room required for some applications.

With either open or enclosed load platforms, cart systems may be configured for use in sanitary applications, hospital, food service, sterile supply environments, clean rooms. surgical carts, supply carts, manufacturing, laundry, food service and bulk handling.

They also offer a convenient means for achieving the best use of prime space. When the Gould Tanner Group of Nashville embarked on an addition and renovation for the Bayshore Medical Center in Pasadena, Texas, it needed to expand outpatient surgery and add operating rooms on the first floor. In the existing footprint, central sterile was also on the first floor, a convenient cart trip away from the operating rooms. In order to locate the new surgery rooms on the first floor, explains Matt Rigsby, AIA, project coordinator, central sterile needed to be moved. The solution was to put it in the basement and use two sets of cart handling systems to deliver and fetch the clean and dirty materials. Although the distance was just one floor, traction motors were specified for faster speed.