Indexed Under: Asplundh Bucket
Here Are The Essentials On Lift
Truck Bucket Reconditioning/Replacement And Accessory
Selection As A Companion To
Asplundh Bucket
If case this applies
to your operational, safety and maintenance
needs,
we'll show
you the best practice
for this type of
admittedly
critical repair.
(This should
be of value even to those who were attracted to this page
by
trying to find information about
Asplundh Bucket.
If this does not apply to you specifically we would ask that you find the most appropriate person in your organization to give this information to.)
First, There is a need to establish the very basic
requirements the for evaluating capabilities of upper boom and lower boom insulators, and what can, in effect, distort the capability to protect the operator/user/worker. The repair organization may
not be aware of it unless they are focused on this
particular type of evaluation and restoration process,
however there do exist formal standards issued by the government
on this type of device, for which repair practices must be
followed.
Second, no
competent testing and repair approach can be complete,
without looking at the material integrity of the
insulating members of the lift which carry loads as
well. Loads that we need to
remember are special human cargo, and deserve the highest
quality protection available. Specifically, we are
looking at the insulators themselves and how much
stress and strain they can withstand over time without
breaking down. And the bucket
itself, and how it can be important to maintain a high
level of electrical separation, is still a
large part of the safety equation against personal shock.
The idea of having a conductive
bucket in situations where power line exposure is a
potential is not wise, and using a non-conductive personnel enclosure versus a wire or
other metalized platform may be an alternative or at the very
least an alternate choice. There are many cases where
there is no planned or anticipated potential of actually coming in contact with an
unprotected or exposed electrical
obstruction, but this can unintentionally
happen over the course of the use of the
equipment.
Third are the
mountings that connect the bucket to the boom. There must be a rigorous method of checking
of this important
functional aspect. (Should your travels have delivered you to this page from your interest in Asplundh Bucket, we hope you feel it is important
enough for you to express its importance to the correct person in your maintenance or
management group.)
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. It is
incumbent upon any operator to approach this situation
with more than simple production goals. So, some of
the special considerations involved in fiberglass repairs
and rebuilds of aerial manlift components
include:
What are the
technical needs to safely insulate the two sections of
the boom from one another.
The level of tension and damage the insulators for the upper and lower boom can safely withstand.
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.
More Than Asplundh Bucket: The Critical Assessment Of The
Abilities Of A Repair Facility For The Most Important Fixup
You'll Ever Do
The following questions should be asked
of any company that claims authority for aerial manlift
fiberglass work:
If they do
have some type of formal risk underwriting carrier or
company, have they adequately informed and regularly
update their carrier on their activities in connection
with their repair or
replacement work on aerial manlift components?
Like any
professional, those who
actually do the work, they should have the proper
training and carry the proper certifications. One that is helpful is the CCT certification of
the American Composites Manufacturing Association.
In addition
to the above:
Is the company familiar
with the special needs of fiberglass components in aerial
man lift units?
In addition to maintaining
physical integrity, after a repair has been made, a final
electrical insulation test should be performed to ensure
that the refurbishment process has not also created a literal and figurative potential for dangerous
circuit completion that could effect the operator. (For
situations relating specifically to Asplundh Bucket, a consultation
with those in your organization who actually purchased your aerial lift products are a
good idea to gain their perspective.)
Further Than Asplundh Bucket: Repair Scenarios And The Right Way
To Deal With Them
It is
often helpful to understand where and how these
challenges may come about. We have listed what you
might say are a bit sanitized versions of encounters from
our own experience. A competent process would
embody most of the illustrations we have
included.
No Obvious
Damage
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. The first thing that should be done is
to visually examine the boom for any evidence
of damage. Any such evidence should be compared with
boom damage criteria shown in the OEM manual. Any
problems require the action indicated in the manual.
2. If the boom is dirty inside, the shop should
ask permission to pressure wash
the inside. should
then be dielectrically tested to make sure that it is
still dielectrically sound. If there is a dielectric
problem, the boom should be analyzed with a conductivity
tester to identify the problem. If the
analysis reveals a problem, the company should call the
owner.
3. If there are no additional problems, the boom
should be cosmetically repaired and refinished as needed.
4. Then, the boom should be dielectrically tested
again and structurally tested. If no flaws are
found, 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 .
Here Is A Time When More Care Is Needed From The
Very Beginning,
That Call For A Specialist Organization
Looking once more at the top
section of the support boom. It has fractures 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 also on the hollow
inner core of the boom itself. 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.
Using An Instructive
Example To Illustrate The Dangers Of Proceeding With
Improper Repair And Returning A Component To Full Field
Use
There are not a lot of backup
systems with a bucket style lift mechanism, and that
goes double with the
attachment of the boom to the bucket itself. There are
various ways that this main support can be
accomplished. In this case:
The main attachment
was accomplished through threaded rods that are in
effect integrated into the side of the bucket.
From a visual inspection, it was clear
that there were fissures in the actual fiberglass
that supported
these mounting rods.
It is apparent that no amount of
reinforcement would likely return this
conveyance to a safe operating position.
When The Basic Bonding Gives Way
Another
situation is when the
enclosed platform that holds the operator is formed into reinforced arches
into which studs or bolts are fitted that in turn
are used to connect the boom arm. When damage has
occurred, it
can compromise the actual boom mounting assembly. If
this is the case, it is more than a concern for the
safety conscious operator. While there are repair
techniques that can be used, none will likely restore
this critical supporting assembly to a viable state.
Because this design depends heavily on both the integral
bonding of the mounting fixture into the supporting
fiberglass, again the recommendation to the owner would be for replacement rather than remanufacture.
Where It Looks Worse
Than It Is
So, there are cases where competent skills can be applied on an aftermarket basis with good results such as in this case:
Bucket displays no damage with the boom coupling
mechanism.
Yet you can see fissures, cracks or
other issues elsewhere.
So moving forward with any
refurbishment is a go or no go decision, weighing the economics of both options, ,
and to await further instruction.
Tags: Asplundh Bucket
