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PEN09/32: IMPROVED GRID LIFT FROM PENNY HYDRAULICS (30 November 2009)

Issue Date: 30 November 2009
Ref: PEN09/32

Penny Hydraulics has introduced a new version of its Grid Lift that will allow this unique device to be installed on a wider range of gully tankers and maintenance vehicles to lift heavy gully and drain covers out of the way for clear access during cleaning and jetting operations. The new Grid Lift can handle covers weighing up to 250kg, is ideal for freeing seized covers, and eliminates the need for crews to handle covers by hand for improved productivity and better health and safety compliance. The cover is then lifted upwards and the whole device swung to one side to provide vehicle crews with clear and unobstructed access to the gully or drain for safe and efficient inspection, maintenance and cleaning.

IMPROVED GRID LIFT FROM PENNY HYDRAULICS

Penny Hydraulics has introduced a new version of its Grid Lift that will allow this unique device to be installed on a wider range of gully tankers and maintenance vehicles to lift heavy gully and drain covers out of the way for clear access during cleaning and jetting operations. The new Grid Lift can handle covers weighing up to 250kg, is ideal for freeing seized covers, and eliminates the need for crews to handle covers by hand for improved productivity and better health and safety compliance.

The original Grid Lift was based around a simple but effective design that incorporated two hydraulic rams, one horizontal and one vertical to position the device precisely over the cover being lifted. Although this design has proved to be extremely successful with operators including Atkins Somerset Highways Commission it can only be installed on larger tanker chassis where there is space running laterally across the vehicle to accommodate the horizontal hydraulic ram. The new design removes this limitation because it is based on a Penny Hydraulics Swing Lift crane which means it can be installed in many more positions on the chassis to provide tanker builders and operators with much greater flexibility in the vehicle configuration.

For the new design a hydraulic cylinder with a special frame attachment is mounted vertically on the end of the popular Swing Lift 250 knuckle jointed crane. The knuckle joint configuration allows the frame to be positioned anywhere within an 835mm radius of the mounting point for precise and accurate lifting of covers. Once in position the frame is connected securely to the gully cover using simple twist-locking keys that can accommodate castings of different profiles. The cover is then lifted upwards and the whole device swung to one side to provide vehicle crews with clear and unobstructed access to the gully or drain for safe and efficient inspection, maintenance and cleaning. The cover is replaced in the reverse operation.

The Grid Lift’s fully-hydraulic action ensures all movements are smooth and precise for the best possible combination of performance and safety. There is no need for any manual handling of the cover and the entire process can be completed in around two minutes at each gully so that there is no impact on daily clearing rates and overall productivity. The whole unit folds away unobtrusively when not in use and is held securely in the retracted position by two independent locking pins to comply with health and safety regulations when the vehicle is moving.

Customers who have used the earlier version of the Grid Lift have reported that gully crews are able to work more consistently throughout the day because they no longer get fatigued from lifting covers by hand. Since using the Grid Lift Atkins Somerset Highways Commission has had no accidents affecting gully crews and the organisation is now encouraging its contractors to fit the device to their own vehicles.

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