Easier and the Work Much Faster Engcon's Tiltrotator Makes Life
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No 4 | 2018 SAFETY FIRST engcon’s Tiltrotator makes life easier and the work much faster Win a trip to Never drop Once with Bauma 2019 a bucket engcon, in Munich! again! no looking back – Page 2 – – Pages 6-7 – – Pages 12-13 – Zero tolerance for dropped buckets The tiltrotator that was the start of engcon This may be because decision-making overwhelming majority of traffic accidents. back in 1990 came about because I wanted processes are exhaustive, the protagonists We can also learn from this. to solve a technical problem. Looking back slow, and opinions diverse. But we cannot In launching the ”responsible quick coupler,” a few decades later, I can see that a great allow the lack of consensus to create engcon seeks to do everything we can to deal has happened in the development unnecessary deadlocks that constantly drive developments towards zero tolerance of engcon, its business solutions and the slow development if we really want to make for workplace accidents involving excavators. product systems we provide worldwide. But progress. In the system engcon has developed, the I also know that we’re far from finished. We While we’ve been marking time here in quick coupler does for the machine operator want to do more. Sweden, the Norwegian Machine Wholesale what adaptive cruise control does for the While zero tolerance for workplace Federation has taken an important step in the car driver – it stops accidents before they accidents has long been a central topic of right direction by issuing recommendations happen. The system reduces the operator debate, the only zero achieved so far is a to apply safety standards higher than those error and minimizes the number of incidents. concrete result from the discussions. Not that pertain internationally. Also, examples much has happened in my niche from the automotive industry show that There’s much more we could do to increase business – excavators and quick major changes are possible in short order tool change safety, if we all had the will. couplers – either. if only the will exists. Today, adaptive cruise And we do. Don’t think that today’s long- control through radar is practically standard established safety systems are the last in every new car, even though as car buyers word. We are also driven, as we have always most of us had not heard of the technology been, by the desire to be problem solvers a few years ago. Things moved quickly, but and continue searching for innovative ways more importantly, safety efforts focused ahead. Not just for our own sakes, but for the on the right things, namely the elimination sake of safety for everyone. of the human factor that is behind the Stig Engström Owner and founder of engcon WIN A TRIP TO BAUMA 2019! Now you can win a trip to Bauma, the world’s largest machine fair, which will take place in April 2019 in Munich. We offer you a round trip, hotel and two days at the fair where we also take care of you and the other winners. Register for the drawing to win spring’s coolest trip. www.engcon.com/bauma2019 The contest is ongoing from December 1st 2018 through January 31st 2019. GOOD LUCK! Ps. There is no requirement, but if you want you may upload a picture on your machine with #engconbauma19 on your Facebook and / or Instagram as well. 2 engcon news Tilt&Rotate A year ago, an employee lost four “WE CANNOT AFFORD fingers when an unintended bucket release occurred mid-air. The company ANY MORE ACCIDENTS” then immediately purchased a hitch locking system from engcon. www.engcon.com 3 The excavator was about to be loaded onto a truck. Suddenly, work, he has switched between two different buckets about the bucket fell off. eight or nine times. The buckets weigh around 500 kilos (1,100 lbs). On the narrow old road, schoolchildren, cyclists “All the safety rules were followed, but it turned out that the and motorists pass by quite close. bucket had not been properly locked. It fell off and struck Until now, it has been necessary to press a number of the truck driver who was standing and giving directions for different buttons to release the tool. Which buttons you loading the excavator into place on the truck bed. He lost need to press can vary depending on which tool you want four fingers. It could have been much worse,” says Bjørn to release or the type of excavator you are using. It can be Ove Hetlevik, construction and project manager at Sartor challenging to remember how to do it correctly, especially if Maskin AS, Norway. you are switching between excavators. After the incident in the fall of 2017, the company decided engcon has developed a completely new solution here, to buy the Q-Safe hydraulic quick coupler and the QSC hitch called the Quick hitch Standard Control (QSC). With QSC, locking system from engcon. you have a simple user-friendly control panel inside the excavator. The same panel can be used regardless of which Safety at work tools you use. “We cannot afford any more accidents. We want all our employees to be safe at work,” says Hetlevik. “See, the panel is to the right of the driver and is easily Q-Safe requires positive ground pressure, which means controlled with one hand. By pressing two buttons next to that it is only possible to change tools when the bucket’s each other, you either lock or release,” explains Hetlevik. weight is resting on the ground. A sensor detects whether the tool is grounded, and only then is it possible to unlock ”It’s a smart move” and change the tool. Veidekke ASA is one of Sartor Maskin’s contractors. “Sartor Maskin is making a smart move by implementing Before the tool is locked, an alarm sounds and a bright light a safety system that prevents unintended tool release. It blinks and as well, it is impossible to move it. means everything to us that subcontractors are constantly ”I think everyone who operates an excavator has experienced thinking about safety. Our industry is dependent on value a bucket or other tool falling off. Even I have experienced creation while at the same ensuring that everyone comes losing a bucket mid-air, and there was a man standing only home safely. As a contractor, we have routines to detect a meter or two away. Cold shivers went down my spine. We possible risk elements, but we are 100% dependent on feel much safer now. We now know that Q-Safe ensures those we collaborate with to focus on safety and technical that the tool is locked before we can lift,” says Stein Arve advances in their field,” says Ørjan Hatlevik, construction Fagerholt, heavy equipment operator at Sartor Maskin. manager in Veidekke. 500 kilo (1,100 lbs) bucket Sartor Maskin has installed both QSC and Q-Safe on the He is working on a road expansion near the Sartor Mall in latest excavators they purchased. Sotra outside Bergen, Norway. Nine hundred meters of road “Tool replacement is one of the most dangerous parts of is to be widened as well as installing a new pedestrian and working on an excavator. It is very important for us to think bike path. A new bus stop is also to be built. So far today at safety first,” says Hetlevik. 4 engcon news Tilt&Rotate QSC is a locking system for the excavator or the tiltrotator’s tool attachment. This replaces the excavator’s integrated locking system. The buttons are always in the same place here, and it is easy to understand. With the new safety systems, the bucket cannot be released mid-air. This makes it safer for both passers-by and excavator operators. www.engcon.com 5 Never drop a bucket again! Would you like the gas pedal and brake pedal to be Nor is it possible to open the quick coupler lock with in different places depending on the make of car you a bucket or tool in the air. The tool must rest on the drive? Of course you not; it’s unthinkable, and your ground before it can be disconnected. Furthermore, life would be at risk. it must be connected securely with both bucket ax- This was behind our thinking when we developed the les properly engaged and locked before the excava- QSC – a standardized locking system for excavator tor can be used. couplers. This means we have eliminated the risk of improper Used with the Q-Safe quick coupler, it creates the operation such as inadvertent activation of the buck- world’s safest quick coupler in a system that is not et lock resulting in a dropped bucket. only standardized regardless of excavator make and It’s simply not possible to make mistakes with the model, but also prevents the operator from making engcon Q-Safe and QSC lock system. mistakes. Read what engcon’s founder and owner Stig You always do the same thing to lock and open the Engström has to say about this in his editorial on machine and tiltrotator quick couplers. What’s more, page 2. the system guides the operator to press the correct buttons and even if he makes a mistake, the QSC will Welcome to a safer workplace! not. The system is foolproof, so it’s simply not pos- sible to connect a tool incorrectly. QSC | Standardized locking system* Bucket axle indication Ground pressure indication Lock function for machine coupler Deactivating slew lock Slide lock for correct selection of couplers prevents opening the wrong quick coupler lock *QSC is an option not a standard product.