Proper tipper maintenance to avoid liability
It is possible to avoid the pitfalls of tipper maintenance and protect your fleet with a few simple steps, as Mark Venables explains
Raise high the pallet, engineers
It's too easy to go for the same old equipment for yet another lifting or handling task. Brian Tinham examines some of the options and the engineering issues in specifying plant
Raising the ante on safety
While lifts and lifting operations have generally become much safer certainly than when passenger lifts first made their appearance during the 19th Century handling and lifting are still the largest source of industrial accidents in the UK: 440 in 2003 and well ahead of falls, at 353. As a result, safety regulations are regularly reviewed and tightened.
New trains of thought on lifting
Every so often lifting equipment fails, generating the kind of headlines that no one wants to see. These unfortunate incidents occur despite safety checks carried out by the manufacturer and further regular checks undertaken by the end user, in accordance with the respective regulations. However, a high proportion of accidents can be prevented, if the operator pays more care and attention. For this reason, issues such as load stability and operator positioning are becoming hot topics in the world of cranes, lift trucks, hoists and mobile elevating work platforms.
Law in your own hands
You could be forgiven for thinking that on 6 April the eyes of the legal profession will be firmly on the Corporate Manslaughter (Corporate Homicide in Scotland) Act, as it comes into force. But you would be wrong. Why? Because for the vast majority of cases that have to do with health and safety, absolutely nothing changes.
Maintain your guard
Health and safety regulations continue to be breached, with sometimes tragic, as well as costly consequences. David Lewis reviews the legal landscape and some salutary cases
Moving engineers
Operations, plant and transport engineers with an eye to the future would do well to get to the Commercial Vehicle Show (CV 2007) at the NEC Birmingham, 24-26 April. The transport industry is adopting newer technologies and that has implications not only for transport engineers, but plant engineers and surveyors when it comes to maintenance, repair and safety.
Moving experience
Although aimed primarily at commercial vehicle operators, engineers and technicians, the CV Show offers useful opportunities for those whose careers span the fixed and moving plant divide. Brian Tinham reports
Lifiting and Handling - The LOLER lowdown
Wherever there is lifting equipment there will be safety issues. In December 1998 the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) came into force to help reduce the risk and occurrence of accidents through the continuing integrity of lifting equipment. LOLER covers essentially any plant that lifts, wherever the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 applies. The onus is on the user, manager or owner of the equipment to ensure compliance. Plant engineers should therefore be familiar with their full duties under the regulations and would be well advised to refer to the Regulations and accompanying Code of Practice. While a number of pamphlet guides have been published, including one by the Health and Safety Executive, the regulations are detailed: in the opinion of Robin Burden, an independent health, safety and quality advisor who has worked with lifting plant suppliers such as JLG, "LOLER does leave some room for manoeuvre."
Lifting & handling - Tell tail signs
'One of the most highly-regulated pieces of ancillary equipment currently available for fitment to a vehicle, with specific responsibilities placed on the equipment manufacturer, installer, specifier and/or operator.' These words appear in the introduction to an early draft of a guide being published by SOE's IRTE sector. And they sum up nicely why just such a publication is needed.