EQUIPMENT THAT MAKES EFFICIENCY ACCESSIBLE

Right equipment enables quick and efficient access to height for facilitating smooth functioning of round-the-clock operations.

Access equipment comes into consideration where the work is at the height. Boom lifts, man lifts, scissor lifts, vertical mast, push around, etc are such access equipment which are used extensively and enhance operations at railway and metro stations. Selection of models depends on the application for which the equipment is required.

Modified machines running on tracks
For the purpose of construction, booms lifts are more sought after whilst for maintenance work in the stations scissor lifts, vertical masts and push around are preferred. Souma Ray, Director, Haulotte India Pvt Ltd says, “For railways, we have special modification that can be done on our Haulotte machines so that they can travel on railway tracks and attend the maintenance work of railway poles etc.”

Enhancing operations while maintenance work
Railway stations and metro stations are the busiest public places today. The time available for any kind of maintenance work is almost non-existent as most stations are operational 24 hours. The cleanliness and the maintenance of these stations has assumed a great deal of importance and keeping in view the limited time period available for these activities to be carried out, manlifts have become almost indispensable. The high bay lights and sound systems, the trusses and the signboards, and many such areas inside the stations located at heights need to be reached quickly and efficiently with equal emphasis on aesthetics.

“Manlifts make it possible to enhance the operations of stations with quick and efficient access to heights for changing or repairing of signboards, cleaning activities, attending to electrical trouble shooting activities and many more such activities,” says Pradeep Agarwal, Associate Director, Mtandt Group.

Reaching greater height
With technology upgradation, boom lift or a man lift comes in many shapes and sizes and can reach even those areas that are hard to reach. Thanks to compactness, the machines can be used in places with lots of public movement like railways and metro stations and are also easily portable. Sunil Malhotra, MD, Appletree Building Maintenance Pvt Ltd says, “Safety is a major concern when working at heights. With the enhancement of technology, lots of safety measures have been inculcated in these machines.”

Enhancing uptime
Preventive maintenance
Equipment uptime depends upon the way the machine is used and maintained. Souma says, “If proposer operations and regular preventive maintenance as recommended by manufacturer are carried out, breakdown will reduce.” Haulotte’s new generation machines have the ACTIV Screen fitted on the ground control panel which not only depicts the various operating parameters of machine but also identifies any fault that may happen and exactly pinpoints the location and suggest the remedial measure. This certainly cuts down downtime of machines.

The best way to maintain any machine is to have a timely maintenance checklist adhered to as per the OEM’s schedule. Malhotra says, “We have a designated maintenance team which has to complete its scheduled visits on all are machinery on a monthly basis as these machines work at great height and if not maintained properly can cause damage of human life.”

Efficient service and aftermarket support
There are many ways to enhance the uptime of the equipment. Agarwal says, “Timely delivery of efficient and crisp service (aftermarket support) is the most important way to enhance uptime of equipment. Service or aftermarket support is a much specialised subject for capital goods, and requires an organisation to be on its toes all the time when it comes to response service issues.”

Mtandt believes in anticipating service calls and possible component failures or replacement requests by studying the machine history. For addressing the challenges in the industry, the company has been proactive with its customers and principals for optimising response time and costs. AWPs and other high value capital goods that Mtandt deals with have prime movers and transmission systems that can be categorised as the major components. Timely checks of these, coupled with periodic servicing can maximise the productive lifecycle of the machine.

Tips to buy right equipment
The purchase of any AWP or access equipment should purely be based on application study. Working at height is a common phenomenon and this is not restricted to any specific sector or industry. Souma says, “Selection of the right equipment that can meet various requirements of working at height should be the guiding principle for purchase of such equipment.”

For every application, appropriate selection techniques need to be adopted to ensure the best value for the money invested. Below are certain parameters by Agarwal for choosing right equipment (equipment type wise):

• Single and dual mast lifts benefit the simple vertical up applications of light fixture access, roof cleaning or crane access, with some of them useful in lobbies or atriums of hotels, malls and IT parks, suits all terrain or surface.
• Scissor lifts, a stronger version of manlifts for heavier work, better up or down cycles, suiting all terrain or surface except floors with low slab strengths.
• Boom lifts offer higher versatility with both vertical and horizontal reach, wide range of heights for reaching virtually any height.
• Mast booms, a good combination of mast design with a short boom benefiting the user working in confined or congested areas. Ideal for use on industrial shop floors and machine building activities.
• Spider lifts, boom configuration but lower ground bearing pressure, benefiting the users in airports, malls, IT parks and hotels.
• Truck mounted AWPs and towable (trailer mounted range), benefits the users who would like to transport the machines to long distances, economical too.

If proposer operations and regular preventive maintenance as recommended by manufacturer are carried out, breakdown will reduce.
Souma Ray, Director, Haulotte India Pvt Ltd

Timely delivery of efficient and crisp service (aftermarket support) is the most important way to enhance uptime of equipment.
Pradeep Agarwal, Associate Director, Mtandt Group

Safety is a major concern when working at such heights and with the enhancement of technology lots of new safety measures have been inculcated in these machines.
Sunil Malhotra, MD, Appletree Building Maintenance Pvt Ltd

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