| Probe to safely remove stones stuck between dump truck tyres |
DECRIPTION
UK Coal removed the manufacturer fitted rock ejectors on all of their fleet of Caterpillar 777F RDT’s due to several incidents. However, the removal of the rock ejectors, led to an operational problem with rocks becoming wedged between the twin rear wheels on the truck fleet. These rocks had to be removed by manually putting a strap around the rock and pulling the rock out with the aid of the telehandler. This was a time consuming and potentially dangerous task.
An engineering solution was designed and fabricated consisting of a large steel arm attached to the rear wall of an excavator bucket by means of a ‘quick hitch coupler’. To remove wedged rocks, the dump truck operator contacts the excavator operator by radio and between them they position the truck so that the excavator can attach the probe and remove the rock.
See additional pdf for images.
BENEFITS
• No pedestrians are involved in the operation
• Manual handling and the use of a strap have been eliminated.
• Disruption to production is minimal as operation completed in 5 minutes
• Significant time saving on what is a frequent event (several times a shift)
• This previously hazardous task now safely undertaken.
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