CTE10/05: TRACKED ACCESS TAKES THE PAIN OUT OF GLASS FITTING (19 April 2010)
Issue Date: 8 April 2010
Ref: CTE10/05
TRACKED ACCESS TAKES THE PAIN OUT OF GLASS FITTING
When Coppard Plant Hire was asked to specify equipment to assist with the installation of large glass panels in a new school building it included one of its CTE Traccess CS135 tracked access platforms as part of the overall package. The Traccess CS135 worked alongside a Unic 506 crane also supplied by Coppard to provide the building contractor with a complete one stop shop solution to fulfil the job requirement. The crane lifted the panes to the correct height and construction staff used the 13m maximum working height and 6.5m outreach of the CS135 to access the building frame and fix the glass into position.
“The CTE Traccess units are more reliable than similar machines from other manufacturers,” says Joby Coppard, Plant Manager of Coppard Plant Hire. “They are also easy to use for people who are hiring for the first time and never used an access platform before because the controls and instructions are simple to understand.”
Coppard Plant Hire offers a unique one-stop-shop service that enables customers to hire a complete range of machinery including cranes, access, forklifts and other equipment from a single source. The company operates from three locations in the South East and serves customers including local authorities, construction companies, utilities, and aviation and transport infrastructure companies.
The company purchased its first CTE Traccess CS135 track mounted access platform during 2009 to enhance its overall portfolio offer and now has two of this model. The unit was an ideal solution for the main contractor at St Andrews and Cannon School when it needed to install some heavy glass panels in a new door canopy structure. Working in conjunction with a mobile crane which lifted the panels into position the CS135 allowed installation engineers to fit the panels safely and quickly. The basket can accommodate loads of up to 200kg, enough for two average people and 40kg of tools, which made it ideal for the glass fitters to work side-by-side to complete the installation.
The CTE Traccess CS135 is a compact and highly versatile mobile tracked access platform for off-road, rough-terrain and other narrow access applications where conventional mobile and vehicle mounted equipment cannot be used. It has 13m maximum working height and 6.5m working outreach (the larger CS170 offers 17m working height and 7.5m outreach).
Traccess offers the most versatile boom configuration in its class with non-continuous rotation up to 330o for easy access to the working area. Telescopic extension and flyboom combine to offer class-leading performance which, together with the ingeniously designed demountable basket, allow the unit to fold down to a compact closed dimension. This ensures it can be manoeuvred through extremely narrow gates and doorways, around tight corners and carried on conventional plant trailers or inside light commercial vehicles. An innovative umbilical cord remote control unit with simple and intuitive controls allows the Traccess to be driven on and off transportation, moved across the ground and put into position while the operator remains at a safe working distance at all times.
Simple basket-mounted controls allow the unit to be operated easily from the working position with minimal training which is ideal for hire customers. Reliable load sensors provide users with a warning if the maximum load limit is exceeded. Interlocks prevent further operation until the loading is brought back within safe working limits. Interlocks and safety cut-outs prevent operation of the access platform until the outriggers are fully deployed. All hydraulic services are designed for failsafe operation with check valves on all cylinders. During normal operations the access platform is controlled from the basket using simple controls. Proportional controls ensure all movements, including lift, outreach and rotation, are smooth and precise at all times. There is full manual override at ground level for all functions.
The fully steel chassis, sub frame and boom superstructure ensure maximum strength for robust performance, reliability and stability. Hydraulic tubing and electric cables are housed inside the boom sections to offer protection from accidental damage and a “clean” top boom. This is particularly important for arboriculture and similar applications because there are no external services or caterpillar type track to snag on branches.