## 5 Handling Activities of Large Cargo Containers by Reach Stacker
Waiting for the arrival of a tractor-trailer with a large type A cargo container. **Step No. 2. ** A tractor-trailer (ZD) driving along a cargo storage area and stopping at a suitable distance before the designated transhipment area in order to conduct the operations, which include:  
* A driver bypassing around a tractor-trailer to ensure that the pivots securing a transported load unit are released (lack of release could result in the raising of a tractor-trailer while it takes a large container with a clutching device),
* confirmation by a driver of the readiness to carry out the transhipment operations (including a hand gesture or a klaxon signal). **Step No. 3. ** Straight passing of a tractor-trailer at a low velocity of 5 km/h (distance of 25 m). Stoppage of a vehicle after a klaxon signal of a reach stacker operator when the corners of the large cargo container are in a convenient position, which means perpendicularly, relative to the pivots of a clutching device. Figure 5: The scheme of a transportation cycle: from picking up of a large type A container from a tractor-trailer by a reach stacker to setting it aside in a prescribed storage area. Source: own work. **Step No. 4. ** Approach of a reach stacker to a tractor-trailer with a low velocity of 5 km/h in order to raise a load unit. Correction setting of a reach stacker arm and position of a vehicle so that a gripper clutch is located directly above the fastening corners of the large cargo container. **Step No. 5. ** Lowering of a clutching device on the upper part of a container, pivots arrangement and fitting them to the fastening corners, and pivots locking. Raising of large cargo container. Slight moving back of a reach stacker at a distance that allows unobstructed moves from the tractor-trailer from a place of loading activities. **Step No. 6. ** Departure of an empty tractor-trailer along a cargo storage area. **Step No. 7. ** Straight passing of a reach stacker in order to place a large cargo container in a designated storage area sector. Placing a load unit in a designated level in a containers column (so-called storage layer) including setting adjustment so that a placed container's corner fittings are in exactly the same positions as the corners of the container in the layer below (this concerns the second and subsequent layers). **Step No. 8. ** Moving back of a reach stacker, change of the angle of a reach stacker arm so that transportation is be possible, and change of the moving direction and departure in order to realise the next handling and transport operation. The summary of the durations of the individual steps is given in Table 3.  
The durations for taking a large type A cargo container from a tractor-trailer and placing it in a denoted place of a storage area sector are given below. These depend on the layer of the container placing and are equal to:  
* in the case of layer No. 1: 3 minutes and 55 seconds,
* in the case of layer No. 2: 3 minutes and 58 seconds,
* in the case of layer No. 3: 4 minutes and 18 seconds. These data were developed according to an empirical method (local visits in chosen intermodal freight terminals), appropriate documentation [36; 37; 38; 39], literature [6; 55; 56] ([PERSON] and [PERSON],