Yellowmove

Introduction

The yellow move category encompasses the simplest moves we are required to undertake. The category includes all works that can be manually handled over small distances by two art handlers, or can be installed without the need for additional equipment to elevate the painting into position. The category does not necessarily state the characteristics of the works it includes but generally it refers to paintings weighing under 60kgs. The size of the work is also not such a significant factor as quite large paintings can be included if it is determined they fall within the ease of handling required.

The yellow category contains around 60% of the works within the gallery's collection and will form the majority of moves throughout the year. Using the correct equipment associated with the category (as listed below) multiple moves of paintings can occur simultaneously and this is frequently found to be the case when large gallery hangs occur. Commonly the works within the category are installed using a plate system or the NG Gadget system (please refer to installation methods) and additional security measures are also applied at installation.

Yellow Equipment

As the works associated with this category can be manually handled within the short distances of a gallery or packing room, the equipment required consists of two forms of transportation necessary to move these paintings across larger distances within the two main buildings that make up the National Gallery.

The first and most common piece of equipment used for this purpose is the NG standard Picture Trolley. The standard picture trolley is a medium sized transportation trolley that is used for a large variety of moves and also for temporary storage in the Gallery’s stores. The original design was created by the department more than 20 years ago and consists of 4 units. The design, though generic in nature, was conceived to allow the best ease of movement throughout the Gallery site whilst also maximising the carrying capacity of the trolley. Its durability is such that it can also be used to carry works outside of the yellow category.

Part of the working philosophy of the team is that our art handlers carry only a very minimal amount of equipment on their person (basically a tape measure and standard screwdriver). The yellow trolleys have therefore been designed with a storage capacity for other tools and hanging equipment. This consists of two draws which are located at either end of the trolley.

The yellow trolleys are a standard, daily use piece of equipment which have served us well for many years. However, in keeping with our habit of revising our equipment and improving where necessary, a new design has been developed by one of our team supervisors with the first production model recently delivered. Here is his description of the new design and how it differs from the original model.

Yellow Trolley

The yellow trollies are key to how our teams operate in the gallery and the opportunity to re-think the design was not only a chance to make some physical modifications but also an opportunity to reconsider how we use them and make positive changes to our working practice. The trollies are used for the majority of picture movements, rehangs and exhibitions so the primary aims of my design were to increase the capacity for carrying multiple works, improve access throughout the gallery and to provide teams with the correct tools and fixings for each job.

The original design was very successful and the physical changes I made were relatively minor. I added a horizontal extension allowing us to transport larger paintings, slimmed the overall width of the trolley by 50mm to make it easier to pass through doorways, gave it radial corners to remove the sharp edges and increased the clearance around the wheels allowing us to fit brakes. The trolley itself is made from aluminium rather than the original steel design with a 3mm steel deck replacing the 18mm ply and weighting the bottom to ensure stability and provide the necessary weight for the vibration dampening function of the wheels. For the overall structure I reduced the distance between the two outer uprights which both increases the ability to stack paintings side by side but also increases the central space on the deck for items that need to travel flat.

Working across a large site such as the National Gallery one key issue is ensuring that teams have the right tools and hardware ready to hand for each job. We try to minimise the equipment carried by individual technicians and so the majority of our fixings, screws and tooling are kept in the two drawers of each yellow trolley. Maintaining stock and making sure everything goes back in the right place can be difficult during busy periods and a regular frustration for our teams is tracking back and forth across the gallery in search of missing items. For the new trolley I have designed a removable insert for the fixings drawer. The intention is to provide two inserts for each trolley with fixings specific to the two different hanging systems we work with; either hanging from chains or screwing fixings directly into the wall. Through the act of collecting the right drawer insert for each job I am hoping that the process of acknowledging the contents and stock before setting off will become automatic, thereby reducing the frustration of finding items missing. The inserts also double as a tool box that can be removed for easy access during installs and to be restocked at the end of each day.

Alongside the project of designing the trolley we also repurposed a small existing storage area to function as a tooling station and essentially a garage for the trolleys to be stored in. This area has become key to the function of the new trolley design and intended usage, it puts all of the stock, tooling and resources in one place and the layout is arranged specifically around ease of access with a work bench for storing and stocking the drawer inserts. Providing a space for the trolleys to be returned to at the end of each day and collected from every morning may seem incredibly simple but working across such a large site with multiple picture stores and two tooling areas represents a subtle but fundamental change to how we think about the trolleys and how we use them on a daily basis

Tom Hemming

Team Supervisor

Picture Bin

The second type of transportation equipment used for yellow moves is the picture bin. The concept for this consists of any kind of box on wheels able to carry small works by placing dividers between each work to allow “bridging”. The department has designed a standard National Gallery picture bin and has two units available to it. However, it is possible to quickly and easily produced this equipment, constructed from MDF or wood and ply and have at least another 10 units made in this way that were produced during temporary periods of very high picture movements (for example emptying stores). The bins are also very useful as temporary storage units where small works can be safely held and accounted for within a proper storage facility.

Unlike the yellow trolleys, there is obviously a physical limit to the size of the works that can be held within a bin. Normally this tends to be paintings with a major frame dimension of no more than 75cms, the works will also be required to weigh less than 25kgs each.