expert opinion: - OPERC - Off-highway Plant and Equipment ...

Editorial
Diamond blades are a widely used appendage throughout
industry and are often seen attached to fl oor saws or
hand held disc cutters, cutting through a huge variety
of materials from concrete to asphalt, bricks and
blocks. But how many professionals and tradesmen
out there understand the innovation and technology
that goes into to designing these products and more
importantly, of the hidden dangers of their misuse?
At face value, diamond blades look fairly unassuming
and bland but each blade is designed with very specifi c
specifi cations to meet equally specifi c applications. Failure
to select the right blade for the task being undertaken
may well mean that the productivity performance
of the blade is vastly reduced and more critically, a
serious health and safety incident could result.
In this issue, Mr Chris Adams, TASC Solutions, a
renowned international expert on diamond blades,
reports upon a part of the work being conducted with
Professor David Edwards, Birmingham City University
which will encompass blade manufacture, failure
modes and other guidance. It is a fascinating area
of study and presents an important opportunity for
practitioners to become more knowledgeable about
diamond blade procurement, selection and use.
Worryingly, many of the incidents involving diamond blade
use go unreported, but it is not unusual for workers or
members of the public to become seriously injured or even
killed as a result of misuse, abuse or omissions (such as
failing to adopt appropriate risk control measures). Take
one particular issue of segment detachment: it is terrifying
to think that such segments travel at a linear speed
approaching that of a bullet – no amount of PPE would ever
protect the worker or fellow workmate from such a hazard!
This report provides the fi rst stage of ongoing
research within OPERC to provide more defi nitive
guidance to practitioners and professionals within the
plant and equipment sector and the full results will
be published later this year, so watch this space…
one request for PEP readers, please pass this article
on to others who may benefi t from its reading.
Editorial Team
Philippa Spittle, Karen Jones
Published and Distributed by
On-track Multimedia
On Track Multimedia,
Email: enquiries@operc.com (general)
pep@operc.com (newsletter)
Copyright © 2011 On-track Multimedia
While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of
information published in Plant and Equipment Professional,
the Editors cannot accept any responsibility for inaccuracies
or omissions. The views expressed in articles are of the
author(s) and do not necessarily refl ect those of the Editors.
NEwS
Major £2.25 million traffi c investment for A-Plant Lux 4
Chepstow Plant continue investing in Volvo CE products 5
UK debut for ‘fl oating bulldozer’ 6
Lafarge Cement prove that eight arms are better than one! 7
New sustainability action plan from Speedy 8
JCB steps up to the plate with new compaction equipment 8
wear And Spare Parts - a new worldwide supplier 9
New generation Eagle 2 MBI shears from Inmalo 9
CG Power Solutions UK chooses Hewden for major projects 10
Tata Steel reinforces commitment to construction equipment
industry with £8m investment
Rotary grinders for Bobcat loaders and excavators 12
New EZiCAT i600 and i650 receive Network Rail approval 12
Doosan announces changes in Scotland and Ireland 13
New Liebherr city crane gets a fl at-top 14
New Holland Construction expands dealer territory 14
SPECIAL REPoRTS
CoNTENTS
The most comfortable way to transport heavy loads 15
Simplifying mini excavator stability with Track Lock 16
At the cutting edge of diamond blade safety 18
Ammann compaction celebrates 100 years 24
A passion for training: an interview with Jonathan Young,
Technical Director, C & G Services
ExPERT oPINIoN
Hard hats and hot heads 32
IN ACTIoN
The Dustfi ghter fi ghts fi re 36
Bachy Soletanche powers up for wind turbine piling 37
overnight works by Costain installing a new rail works signal 37
wheeled loaders one, telehandlers nil! 38
Hewden’s marathon effort 39
AwARDS
Another industry award win for A-Plant innovation 40
Bachy Soletanche takes home gold at GE Awards 40
JCB Torquelock innovation honoured with Queen’s award 41
ICE award success for Birse Civils South’s western Region 41
EVENTS
CMPE AGM 2011 42
PEoPLE
Royal honour for Henk Groeneveld 44
CBE honour for JCB Deputy Chairman John Patterson 44
New head of health & safety at Breedon Aggregates 44
REGULARS
Mud Muppet’s practical tips 30
Competition 39
Classifi eds 45
News Megabytes 46
June 2011
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