30.09.2016
Telehandler overturn
A man was injured yesterday when the telehandler he was driving overturned on a job site in Waite Park. Minnesota.
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The swinging pole pulled the telehandler over onto its side
The man, Craig Richards, 45, was using the telescopic handler to carry a large lighting pole as a suspended load, with the boom extended. As the machine moved toward the pole’s foundation, it rolled over some uneven ground, causing the load to shift sideways, pulling the machine - A JCB owned by United Rentals- over onto its side.
Richards suffered a head injury and concussion but remained conscious and was treated in Hospital in nearby St Cloud.
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The boom was extended and the load suspended, while it had a tag line it was clearly not sufficient to stop the overturn
It's time that pressure monitoring devices are included as manadatory in pneumatictyre Telehandlers, and the devices and alarm needs to be retrofittable to existing Telehandlers.
Also BIG decals regarding correct tyre pressure in various measurement systems, and a decal required to only replace tyres with the manufacturers Recommended tyre brand, dimension, wall strength and ply rating.
I have seen less expensive radial tyres cause stability issues in larger USA and European style Telehandlers. It's time to engineer out the tyre low pressure issue. Tyre damage and catastrophic deflation is a seperate issue and not covered by tyre pressure monitor systems.
Include the new devices in the EN and ISO and ANSI/ ASME standards for Telehandlers.
Research undertaken by a mayor telescopic handler manufacturer indicates that a 5% reduction in tire pressure from the manufacturer’s values can result in a 30% reduction in capacity at certain points on the load-height-radius curve which could result in the vehicle overturning !
Most rough terrain forklifts and telescopic handlers are fitted with pneumatic tires as they provide a much better flotation on soft ground construction sites.
Disadvantage however is that a pneumatic tire can be easily damaged or punctured by nails, screws, rebar etc.
A flat tire causes headaches : men - machines standing down for hours i.e. loss of revenues !
The most critical situation is the one of a flat tire with a load in the air altering the rough terrains or telescopic handlers’ stability ending up in a fatal accident :
http://www.vertikal.net/en/news/story/11216/
Tire pressures should be checked daily as each day tires lose a little air but checking pressure with a standard gauge is seen as a hassle and often overlooked.
In response to improve safety on rough terrain forklifts and telescopic handlers we have developed a unique real time wireless tire pressure monitoring system solely designed for radial tires mounted on the W type single - piece rim wheels fitted with the 15.7mm / 0,625” ETRTO V5.01.1 - TR618A valve hole !