Conducting A Search Within This Level At Your
Current Location For: Boom Altec
A Field Note: To Go Along With Your Desire For Boom Altec - For Your Information There Exists Instruction On Making Lift
Bucket Repairs And Upgrades Within The Reach Of Any
Organization
It is
interesting that while often
checking into Boom Altec, there are those who have asked about the following as well:
It is true that you may be able to go to
someone who works with fiberglass in many other
roles, they generally may
not provide the best protection for
the user or the company owning the aerial lift truck.
For instance, there are both structural needs and (where
applicable) electrical insulating properties. Plus
legal/monetary risks they can't support. (For
those doing an analysis of Boom Altec, the comments contained
within this article may be more applicable to to whomever
carries the responsibility for field vehicle
operations.)
So, in a competent and
with
total dedication to a rigorous manner:
The requirements for insulating
capabilities of upper booms and lower boom insulators and what affects the performance of those
insulating capabilities in the environments through
which the boom must operate optimally.
The structural strength requirements for
fiberglass upper booms and lower boom insulators in
view of the special stresses to which these items are
subjected.
Sometimes
the final line of defense in preventing electrocution is
the bucket itself. And while there are no formal
standards for this level of dielectric separation,
this critical, baseline ability must be checked
during any refurbishment.
A certain component for
preservation of human life is the safe physical
connection between the
bucket and the boom.
More Than Boom Altec: The Critical Assessment Of The
Abilities Of A Repair Facility For The Most Important Fixup
You'll Ever Do
So what capabilities are needed for the
entity that can safely complete a bucket truck lift
repair?
Can they prove that they
have liability insurance that is specifically
underwritten for the bucket
truck lift repair area?
Are any of its people certified by the American
Composites Manufacturing Association as Certified
Composites Technicians?
There are other steps that
should be taken, if one was serious about this potential
problem. A competent selection process for any
supplying repair/restoration vendor of this type should
also cover:
The components in aerial man lift units must perform
as life preserving conveyances with high levels of
criticality, often beyond other uses for fiberglass. Does
this supplier understand this unusual way of applying
fiberglass?
How does a customer know
if the insulating properties of bucket and boom have been
maintained during repair? By using an approved testing
device. In this situation it becomes the next
evaluation point to check. (Again, we realize your direct interest is in Boom Altec ,so there may be varying levels of need for this.
Please consult manufacturer specs to determine
applicability.)
Beyond Boom Altec:
Examples of Specific Component Repair/Rebuild Issues and
How the Repair Company Should Handle Them
Look here to see how this might play
out.
Sometimes You Have
To Look A Bit Deeper
Here we find that a boom
section that connects to the bucket shows up to do a general check-over and servicing. A
lower end repair shop may do no more than a basic
visual inspection . However,
one that
is familiar with the gravity of the need would do
more, including the following items:
Communication with - and gaining permission - prior to any charges being incurred.
A thorough cleaning inside and outside, followed by a
visual inspection with instruments that can help to
view into the inner cavity of the boom itself.
Initial dielectric testing to determine unwanted
continuity.
Load or stress testing.
Resurfacing.
Final electrical testing to ensure no part of the
process caused any issues/problems.
Publishing and
notification to the customer of all tests and
servicing done.
Highly protective packaging to endure shipment.
Here Is A Time When More Care Is Needed From The
Very Beginning, And The Training And Procedures
That Call For A Specialist Organization
An upper boom with some apparent cracks is brought in.
1. The cracks should be reviewed using the repair manual guidelines of the manufacturer. It will probably be necessary to sand the
coating off the boom to evaluate the cracks. If the
cracks are judged to be repairable, the repairer
should provide a detailed work plan including time and materials so that the owner
can compare that to the cost of a new boom.
2. Once the go ahead to do the work is
received, the repair company
should complete the structural repairs using the proper reinforcement and resin, let the repairs cure, then do a structural test on the boom checking for any problems.
3. If the repairs are
acceptable, the boom should then be cosmetically
refinished and dielectrically tested and returned to
the owner.
When
It Is Not Safe To Even Consider Repair
1. A well used fiberglass enclosed operator containment platform comes in.
2. This particular design uses bolts to mount it to the arm. One
of the studs is coming out of the side wall.
3.
The bucket probably should not be repaired because of
concerns about the possibility of the bucket later coming
loose from the boom.
Structural
Issues
Another
situation is when the
actual
bucket base material 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. 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.
Now that we have created
circumstances where critical repairs should be made
and/or where it is beyond being reasonable to move into
that direction at all, a more normal state is where
wear and tear have taken their toll, but have not yet pushed the item out of its service
range. Recycling in effect is a good potential for
such occurrences, particularly if the ownership is
willing to trade functional for cosmetic differences and
allow the vendor who is tasked to offer trade-offs
between these poles. It is very likely that this apparatus
can be returned to many years of active service. The key question is
whether it is mainly restoring the holding capability of
the bucket or in addition whether surfaces need to be put
back to near OEM levels of feel and look. In this
case, providing levels of pricing for each approach
action, structural only or structural plus
cosmetic, is the appropriate response.
Tags: Boom Altec
