Quick Dips

Prize for Prizing Up Manholes

"If you have to lift a lot of manhole lids, you'd want a better lifter." So says David Newman of BHP/NZ Steel, commenting on the winning entry in the firm's recent Universities Design Competition.

A simple, innovative design for a better manhole lid lifter saw Auckland University engineering student Bruce Logan win the $4,000 prize. Many manholes are awkward to deal with, having been pounded into place by traffic and effectively sealed by dirt and rust. A job with the council saw Logan lifting 1,800 manholes, and provided impetus for the new design.

Rather than using a solid rod to try and move the lid so it can be grabbed at the edges -- a dangerous approach which has seen many a hand injured -- Logan's device uses a foot-powered lever to lift and pivot the lid out of the way.

"We could see contractors, councils, local bodies and the like -- anyone who has access underground -- could have a use for this," says Newman. The idea scored highly on safety, innovation and market potential.

A number of Merit Awards were presented. Jonathan Foster, another Auckland student, scored highly for a safety mechanism designed to stop people being trapped by exercise bench presses.

Newman says people can get into difficulty if they over-estimate their ability. If you want to do 20 lifts and only have the strength to do 19, you can end up dropping the weights onto your chest and getting trapped. Foster's device uses a foot-tripped counterweight system to provide enough lift for a person to escape from under the weights.

BHP/NZ Steel and the Institution of Professional Engineers run the design competition each year to encourage students to find innovative, marketable uses for steel.