Hill Engineering replaces PJ Carey couplers
09 June 2009
The plant hire companys' semi-automatic quick couplers were replaced by fully automatic couplers following industry wide concern over safety.
Although the HSE directive did not go so far as to ban the use of semi-automatic couplers, as an industry leader P.J. Carey considered that by adopting a proactive approach, this positive replacement action would safeguard site personnel and actively demonstrate a firm commitment to enhancing safety on all their sites.
Sean O'Donnell, Director of Wembley-based P.J. Carey Plant Hire, said; "As a responsible plant hire company we are completely driven by safety and we were determined to find an effective solution to the semi-automatic quick coupler problem, and therefore made the decision to change all our hydraulic quick couplers to fully automatic models."
Mr. O'Donnell was given the daunting task of evaluating all the quick coupler products currently available. "When faced with this task I focused on identifying a product specification that fully addressed all the specific areas of concern." He continued, "The product that finally came out on top, and which completely satisfied all the main selection criteria, was the new Hill Auto-Loc 3 fully automatic coupler from Hill Engineering Ltd."
"In addition to addressing the technical and user issues, Hill Engineering were able to offer a 'new for old' coupler exchange at reasonable cost. Hill also provided full hands on product training covering all aspects of the coupler change-over, including replacement of decals, coupler controls and hydraulic circuits. This ensured that the new coupler installations fully complied with the companys health & safety requirements."
"All in all I am confident that we have dealt with the serious issue of operator safety in a timely and effective manner and can now concentrate on ensuring we continue to provide our customers with a service that's second to none," concluded Mr. ODonnell.
Hill Engineering Continues To Put Safety First and in 2005 Hill Engineering, acknowledging that safety is paramount in the attachments world, recognised a need to develop a fully automatic, user friendly coupler, with built-in devices designed to prevent accidental release of attachments. The companys' entire R & D budget was immediately directed towards advancing coupler technology and to the establishment of a dedicated coupler testing facility.
Ian Hill, Managing Director of Hill Engineering, said: "We have listened to our customers and incorporated improvements to provide a product that is more operator-friendly and even easier to use."
