Seeking Aerial Lift Parts? We Would
Like To Identify A Series Of
Aerial Bucket Repairs, Upgrades And Accessories For The Long
Haul
Even though you are investigating
Aerial Lift Parts, this
subject of thought
is worth considering on a personal and
professional level:
While a
non-certified or
specifically-experienced
body shop or a custom molder
of fiberglass
medium-to-large shell type
structures like a boat hull or container
may have
capable and skilled craftsmen who can
make a
repair look
competent enough for many ,
they will likely not have people with
the specific, detailed knowledge needed to make
aerial
lift components truly safe (enough to really protect
the lineman). Nor will they likely have the
product liability insurance (to protect the company).
[Added
note:
For those searching for
Aerial Lift Parts,
the information below should
be passed on to your service-repair
organization.]
With all of the personal
and professional issues to consider,
this is not something that can be put in the category of
basic mechanical repair or restoration. So, some of
the special considerations involved in fiberglass repairs
and rebuilds of aerial manlift components
include:
What the official
specifications are for making sure the upper boom is
dielectrically separated from the lower boom, and how
this separation can be compromised.
How strength must be retained
in the fiberglass boom insulators
While there are no formal
standards, the lift bucket itself does provide
electrical insulation, so a check of these properties is
an important part of the repair.
Specifications must be
strictly followed for the reliable union of the bucket
to the lifting
boom.
If You Are Already
Thinking About Aerial Lift Parts, Now
How About An Effective Evaluation Of Vendor Capabilities
So what capabilities are needed for the
entity that can safely complete a bucket truck lift
repair? Here are some of the key ones to look
for:
Does the company carry product
liability insurance that can fully support any
errors that might be made in providing aerial lift repair?
Are any of its people certified by the American
Composites Manufacturing Association as Certified
Composites Technicians?
In addition
to the above:
Is the company familiar
with the special needs of fiberglass components in aerial
man lift units?
Insulation continuity
can be disturbed by the repair process itself. Therefore
a post-check must be performed, again by an approved
testing device that itself has been calibrated. This
of course presumes that Aerial Lift Parts-related needs have
electrical insulation properties.
Beyond Aerial Lift Parts:
Examples of Specific Component Repair/Rebuild Issues and
How the Repair Company Should Handle Them
Let us take a look at
some steps a
qualified repair facility would typically undergo in
order to ensure safe and proper repair of the bucket and
boom parts under question. While the situations
they represent may seem a bit one dimensional, by
broadly interpreting them, you can get a grasp of the
best practices of repair.
We have seen
all of these situations come into being.
Sometimes You Have
To Look A Bit Deeper
Your local fiberglass rehab
supplier is contacted. They have in their shop an
upper boom for surface
refinishing and rehabilitation. Here are the
steps:
1. Start to visually examine the boom for any evidence
of damage.
2. If the boom is dirty inside, the shop should
ask to pressure wash
the inside. The boom should
then be dielectrically tested . If there is a dielectric
problem, the boom should be analyzed with a conductivity
meter to identify the problem. If the
analysis reveals a problem, the company should call the
owner.
3. If there is nothing else on the repair
agenda, the boom
should be cosmetically repaired and refinished as needed.
4. Then, the boom should be dielectrically tested
again and structurally tested -at a load of more than
double its rating. If it passes, the boom should be waxed ,
and shipped back to the owner. The final phase is
creating some type of secure package in which it is
placed along with certificates showing the results of
the dielectric and structural strength tests.
We will continue with
boom repairs since a failure at that level can be
catastrophic. Looking once more at the uppermost member of a structural support boom. It has fractures that have been flagged in the field and also are confirmed by an initial visual inspection. There
is usually a cosmetic and visual coating on the boom
itself. In order to ensure that all damage can be
identified, this protective layer should be
stripped off and a full end to end inspection made
both on the outside, and inside. At this point the
potential harm from the fissures need to be determined if
they can be repaired and the boom
restored to full and safe operation. This is done by
consulting what the manufacturer has declared proper, and
also comparing the damage to the capabilities of the
repair materials. These typically include physical
reinforcement, using similar OEM products and suitable
bonding materials which are impregnated into the repair
base. At that point in time, a full
mechanical stress/tension test needs to be performed at
over the rated loading for the boom section.
Appropriate electrical testing would follow the same
pattern, but this would most likely be done
after surface finishing or layers are restored. Full
documentation needs to accompany the device back to its
owner/user.
Cutting
Losses
When there is
quite an obvious or intrinsic structural defect, it is tempting to fix
it. Tempting but potentially
dangerous. For instance, where the actual bucket mounting bolts have pulled away from the supporting laminations in the containment bucket itself. This is a repair that may be effected in some way by recompressing the mounting into the fiberglass laminations. Repair in this
situation is not likely to produce a safe, dependable
platform. These connections, which hold the bucket
to the boom, are primary and must be an integrated
part of the platform integrity. The most responsible action in this
casewould be to reject the item for repair and ask
that it be replaced.
This One Involves The Fiberglass Mounting Holes
Themselves
While the
owner ultimately makes the call as to repair, they
need good advice. So here is
a piece of advice we gave.
Buckets can be
attached by creating an assembly out of the actual
fiberglass.
Gaps
can form in these attachment
points.
Under
this scenario, it is pretty difficult to ensure the person
who is operating the equipment will not be
compromised.
If safety is chosen over profit,
then it would be wise to recommend replacement.
A fiberglass lift platform comes into this particular shop:
1. The
mount side is not damaged, but the front corners are
cracked through.
2. The
repairer should determine whether the customer just wants
the bucket repaired structurally or wants the bucket to
also be refinished to a like-new condition.
3. A quotation for the cost of the
repair should then be given to the customer, and then the appropriate repair action should
be taken.
Tags: Aerial Lift Parts
