Tips to Follow When Transporting a Long Reach Excavator
Long reach excavators are revered for their ability to excavate in sites where many other types of excavating equipment can't reach. If you are looking forward to extending your excavation possibilities with a long reach excavator, you will need to be well-versed with how machinery can be properly transported on-site. Here are a few tips to ensure the job is done safely and efficiently.
Transport the boom and lift assembly separately
Transporting abnormal length loads is an activity that poses serious safety threats on the road. The long stretch of the load will require tow vehicle drivers to turn slower than required for smaller vehicles or make it difficult for other motorists to overtake your tow vehicle. Usually, the long reach boom, stick and bucket configuration of the excavator can be detached and transported separately. Therefore, the first thing you should do is ask your maintenance technicians to dismantle the boom and lift system from the rest of the equipment. This will provide you with a number of benefits.
First, it makes it much easier to balance the weight of the load behind the tow trailer of the truck. This is because transporting the entire long reach excavator system would put some extra weight at the front end, making it hard to achieve a desirable weight distribution. Second, the total weight of the load carried is reduced, meaning it will encounter less size and weight restrictions on the road. This will increase the number of alternative routes you can use to deliver your machinery at the worksite.
Use a spotter when loading and unloading
Because of the heavy weight and large size of the loads to be transported, it is important that you employ the watchful eye of a spotter to ensure everything goes smoothly during loading and unloading activities. You will probably use some sort of heavy lifting equipment such as a crane to load and unload the equipment, and this can cause major safety hazards if no one is there to be on the lookout for them. Before embarking on any work, make sure the loading/unloading site is clear of obstructions that may cause hazards.
Once potential hazards have been identified and eliminated, make sure personnel directly involved in the job understand the communication scheme with the spotter. The spotter should work from a convenient location so that your workers can easily follow their instructions and directions. No loading/unloading work should begin before the spotter has given a go-ahead to do so.