Shipping Containers Blog

Posts Tagged ‘20ft container’

Constructing the Community Kitchen

 

Community Centre in Buwanyanga

CS Shipping Containers is proud to be supplying a shipping container to Sussex Downs College as part of their long term project in Uganda.

Over  the past four years Sussex Downs College has sent out over 100 student volunteers to Buwanyanga village, Sironko district, Uganda, to assist the local community build up their educational, health and sanitation capacity.  The work has involved building a library resource centre, community kitchen and toilet blocks, grain stores, sustainable stoves and in 2008 a health education and nutrition centre.  Many of the facilities provided are the only ones in a district of some 2,000 villages and 330,000 inhabitants.

This month CS Shipping Containers supplied a a 20ft shipping container to the college.   This will allow them to dispatch educational resources including computers and vocational and sports equipment to Buwanyanga village.   The much needed goods will reach the village in June.  Once the container has been emptied the college students plan to use it to create a shipping container conversion so it can be used as a further community building.

All this takes money and the college is always seeking ways to raise funds to continue with this work.   Further details available from Ian Elgie, Uganda project coordinator on: email hidden; JavaScript is required   Please contact him if you think you can help.

CS Shipping Containers are absolutely delighted that the Aces Basketball Team based at Stoke Mandeville have asked them for a bespoke shipping container to house their specially adapted wheelchairs when not in use.

The team have chosen a 20ft container to have an extra wide door with a ramp to make accessibility for the wheelchairs as easy as possible. The specially angled wheels are slanted for stability, manouevrability and speed so that the games are fast and furious.

Their coach, who has been out to Beijing this year, is hopeful that some of the members of the Aces will be able to take part in the London Olympics 2012!

We can’t wait to take another photograph when the shipping container store is in use in about a month’s time - and hopefully stay and watch the Aces in a match so we can cheer them on!!

Several of you have asked me to explain how shipping containers are used within the shipping industry.  I have been going on about all the different uses that the containers have once they are no longer needed for shipping,but haven’t said a word about the shipping containers in their original “vocation” as it were!

It may surprise you to know that shipping containers, in both the standard 20ft and 40ft sizes,  have been in regular use in the UK and around the world since about 1960.  In fact 80% of all imports to the UK come in through shipping containers.  Although the average life of container in the shipping industry is 10-15 years, only one in five of containers arriving on these shores,  goes back out on another ship.  The remainder are swallowed into the domestic market for various uses already described in previous posts in this blog.

Anyway, that all said, how does a cargo container get onto a ship?  Lorries arrive at the road transfer area of the terminal to drop off shipping containers for export.  A central computer has already devised a bay plan of the ship to maximise space,  and this computer sends instructions to a straddle carrier, pictured below, as to where to place the containers in a holding stack prior to loading.

When the ship is ready to load, the central computer then instructs the straddle carrier which container to bring to the crane so that the shipping containers can be loaded efficiently as per the bay plan.

Once the ship is loaded it can set sail and when it reaches its destination the process is repeated in reverse.

Simple really.  The really clever bit has already happened.  That is the standardisation of the sizes of containers so that the machinery such as the straddle carriers and the cranes could handle all the cargo being put onto the ship.  This greatly reduced costs and meant that shipping became an affordable option for all sorts of different cargo.

Earlier this month Hurricane Gustav threatened to hit New Orleans.  The city was evacuated in preparation.  Everyone held their breath.

The American Red Cross prepared Shipping Containers in readiness.  They planned to use them as storage for all the equipment and provisions that would be needed to cope with the fall out from Gustav.

In the event, although the 20ft containers were still needed, Hurricane Gustav lost its momentum over the Gulf of Mexico, and ended up being classed as a Tropical Storm instead.  New Orleans survived.

Yet shipping containers are used in many other emergency situations throughout the world.

In Australia and New Zealand the steel containers are often used to provide temporary secure housing that is easily transportable and infinitely adaptable.

In China this year after the earthquakes they used shipping containers to provide storage, office and housing.

Whilst we get excited about the amazing things that Architects do with shipping container conversions, such as the Containart Pavillion we featured yesterday, it can be easy to forget how the adaptability and the easily transportable qualities of a shipping container can be used in their most basic form to help out in a crisis.

Shipping Containers are an ideal solution for additional storage. Whether you are moving or renovating your house, want to clear your garage or spare room of all the clutter so you can use them again for their original purpose, the extra space that a shipping container provides could be the answer. Businesses too can save on expensive commercial premises by putting stock or archiving files in a shipping container.

A 20ft container is about the size of a single garage and is the most common size used for a storage container. Businesses often use a 40ft container as they need the additional space. The containers can be fitted out with racking so that they are well organised and keep their contents easy to find. Moisture traps are used to stop condensation and are particularly effective when storing paper or electrical goods that are sensitive to the damp.

Shipping containers are classed as temporary structures so normally do not require any planning permission. They can be sited easily on any level ground near to the house or office and painted to blend in with their surroundings. With the addition of a lockbox and a heavy duty container padlock they are very secure.

If you have a need for additional storage a shipping container could well provide the answer.

We often get asked how lorries offload shipping containers and why we double check about site access in so much detail.

The truth is that as we are not able to visit each site to see whether or not it is possible to deliver the containers we have to rely on our customers to let us know.   We produce a delivery check list for those who are not sure and will arrange site visits at a small fee if, after sending photographs, the hauler is still uncertain.  This helps to avoid wasted transport fees.

Large lorries equipped with hiabs (cranes) are used to deliver our 20ft and 40ft containers.  They need to deliver from hard standing as otherwise they are prone to sink due to the weight of lorry and container and the recovery costs are astronomical!

The lorries offload the container parallel to the lorry - in otherwise alongside the lorry itself.  They are able to turn 20ft containers through 90 degrees but find this difficult with the larger sized 40fts.

Wherever possible the driver will go out of his way to put the container exactly where the client wants it and tomorrow we will talk about stacking containers and what that involves.

Shipping Containers come in many shapes and sizes and we were discussing in the office the various different preferences there are for containers on a national level.  This inspired Susan to get out her sketch pad and to draw some cartoons to give us a high note to end our week on.

BRECON BEA-CON-TAINER

For example, our enquiries in Wales are often for 10ft containers or insulated containers.  Susan often goes to Wales for inspiration for her painting and is particularly fond of the Brecon Beacons.

LEPRI-CORN-TAINERS

Refrigerated Containers are always in demand in Ireland, often for the fishing industry.  You will have gathered from this particular cartoon that we are very keen on a particular Irish beverage.

BOX NESS MONSTER

Both Susan and I have Scottish parents.  We get asked for a lot of 20ft containers and 40ft containers in the Glasgow area in particular - a fact which always causes debate in the office over football teams as both Susan and I support opposing Glasgow Teams.  Blue is obviously the superior colour no matter what Susan says to the contrary.

Whatever the demand is for shipping containers in whatever part of the UK, CS Shipping Containers are happy to supply them - be they in blue, green,……..or even brown, red etc.!!!

Shipping Containers are, as we have discussed in previous posts, ideal for use in emergency situations.  They are frequently used in Australia and New Zealand for emergency housing and the Red Cross in America used them extensively in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.

Flooding

The floods in North Lancashire and Cumbria mean that many people are going to be looking for emergency container storage for household items.  Most firms will guarantee their containers to be wind and watertight, and as shipping containers are designed to withstand marine conditions they are ideal for storage after the storms and flooding that happened at the weekend.  Offices and site accommodation in the form of conversions made out of shipping containers are also likely to help out local businesses.

20ft container

10ft container

Obviously, the storage containers will not be needed for long periods of time so container hire is an option that should be considered.  Often insurance companies will organise this for their clients.  If you are looking to hire a container yourself, you should remember that the initial invoice will normally be for the first period of hire (normally a month) together with the delivery and collection haulage.   Therefore if the haulage was £150 the first invoice would be for £150 x 2 = £300.

Condensation solutions are also available in the form of moisture traps and additional security  can be provided through lock boxes and insurance approved CISA padlocks.