Delta considers using snakelike baggage loader to cut injuries ATLANTA (AP) =97 An electrically powered lift and belt that twists and turns= =20 as it moves luggage from a cart into the belly of an aircraft may soon=20 slither into an airport near you. Delta Air Lines is considering whether to= =20 buy the RampSnake, a contraption designed to cut down on the time and=20 effort it takes to load and unload baggage on narrow-body planes, 75% of=20 the carrier's fleet. Its soft extension platform bridges the gap between=20 vehicle and aircraft, with nothing hard touching the aircraft skin. From=20 the raised boom, the RampSnake is inserted onto the floor of the cargo=20 compartment. The Rampsnake =97 19.5 feet long and 6.5 feet wide =97 features= =20 several linked modules, each fitted with an individual conveyor belt,=20 allowing it to turn inside the cargo door and transport luggage, up to 90=20 pounds per bag, around a corner at 2.3 feet per second. The device is=20 designed to handle odd-size baggage, such as skis. Instead of lifting the bags and placing them in the aircraft, workers=20 simply slide them off the RampSnake and push them in place. Atlanta-based=20 Delta is looking to cut costs =97 and the RampSnake developers believe it=20 would help by reducing injuries. The device =97 first used in Denmark last= =20 year =97 would require two people to operate instead of the three or four=20 Delta uses. It would cut the amount of time to three to six minutes and=20 reduce back injuries because it does much of the lifting for workers. "Do=20 you do it for cost or do you do it for safety? The fact is they go=20 hand-in-hand," James E. Swartz, Delta's corporate safety director, said=20 Thursday as RampSnake officials demonstrated the device for the airline.=20 Delta spends on average about $7,000 per worker-related injury. It=20 estimates that it would save $2.8 million annually if it meets its target=20 to reduce ergonomical injuries by 400 a year. Officials have not decided=20 yet whether to buy the RampSnake, which costs $125,000 to $185,000 each. No U.S. airline currently uses the RampSnake, which was unveiled in=20 February 2002 and is in limited use in Copenhagen by Scandinavian Airlines= =20 System. Frank Larkin, a spokesman for the International Association of=20 Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents baggage handlers at=20 United, US Airways and Northwest, said technology can help make employees'= =20 jobs easier. But he's concerned such advancements could lead to layoffs.=20 "Technology like this can enhance a job or it can eliminate a job," said=20 Larkin, whose group doesn't represent Delta baggage handlers, who are not=20 unionized. "Productivity can come with a very heavy price tag for=20 employees." Spokesman at several other major carriers, including Northwest= =20 and Continental, did not immediately return calls Thursday seeking comment= =20 on the device. Delta, which lost $1.3 billion last year and $466 million in= =20 the first quarter this year, has reduced its work force by 16,000 since the= =20 Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It said this week it has no current plans for=20 more layoffs. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.natalielaughlin.com/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************