General Handling polyethylene is a resilient material,
lightweight and easy to handle. Nonetheless, care
should be taken not to cause scuffing or gouging of
the surface. In addition to the guidelines set out
here, the handling and storage of PE pipe is covered
by codes of practice issued by various utilities (eg.
the WRc manual for PE pipe systems for water supply)
Loading and off-loading
Lengths and bundles A flat-bed vehicle, free from
sharp objects and projections should be used for transportation
of pipe systems. When lifting pipe bundles by crane,
wideband slings should be used; do not use chains,
hooks or hawsers. For lengths greater than six metres,
load-spreading beams should be inserted at equal distances
apart.
Allow for
a certain amount of deflection or slight bending
of pipe undles when loading or unloading. Standard
six metre bundles may be handled by forklift,
but longer lengths should be moved by a side-loader
with a minimum of four supporting forks or by
a crane with a sperader beam. Individual lengths
should be handled similarly.
Off-loading on site will be eased by skid timbers
and rope slings.
Coils Small coils of pipe strapped
on to pallets are easily handled by forklift.
Larger coils of 125mm or 180mm pipe will require
lifting individually by forklift
Releasing
coils Safety first:Pipe held in coils is under
tension and is strapped accordingly. These may
be hazardous if released in the incorrect manner
- particularly if the end of the pipe is not kept
restrained
at all times. It is most important to read and
understand the following guidelines before attempting
to release coils.
Further advice and guidance is available from
our Technical Services Department. Coils are secured
by one of tow
methods depending
on the pipe's diameter:
1- Outer bands with additional strapping of individual
layers.
Do not remove any of these bands until pipe is
required for use. Remove them carefully, from
the outermost layer first, so that only the length
of pipe needed immediately is released. Successive
layers can be released by removing banding as
the pipe is drawn away from the coil.
2. Wrapped
coils of pipe of 32mm and below have external
layers of filmwrap, enabling the free end of the
pipe to be taken from inside the coil. Take only
sufficient pipe for immediate use from the coil
and on no account remove the outer wrapping until
the coil is almost fully unwound.
Drums
Drums are delivered direct to site on
a low loader and the pipe is usually dispensed from
the drum by pulling off with a machine such as a JCB.
The inner end of the pipe is restrained at the hub of
the drum, and although drummed pipe has less energy
locked into it than coils, caution is requird when parting
the pipe end from the drum. For safety, we recommend
that the end of the pipe should be tethered to the dispensing
machine when it is unhooked from the drum. This will
prevent potentially dangerous springing.
Fittings
Never use hooks to lift
fittings. Make sure that the tines on forklift trucks
are adequately covered (eg. by scrap PE pipe offcuts).
Storage
Badly stacked pallets,
coils or bundles may silp or collapse, causing injury
to personnel or damage to the pipe. Pipe-end caps, intended
to prevent ingress of contamination, should be kept
in place during storage.
Lengths
pipe lengths stored
individually should be stacked in a pyramid not more
than one metre high, with the bottom layer fully restrained
by wedges. Where possible, the bottom layer of pipes
should be laid on timber battens at one-metre centres.
On site, pipes may be laid out individually in strings.
(Where appropriate, protective barriers should be placed
with adequate warning signs and lamps.)
