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Leading excavator attachments manufacturer Hill Engineering has taken thousands of semi and single-locking automatic couplers out of commission and replaced them with one of the safest and most technologically advanced couplers on the market after its 'new-for-old' exchange program proved to be an unprecedented success.

The Northern Ireland-based company has increased production of its ultra-safe Auto-Loc 3 coupler, with its fully automatic dual pin capture system, to satisfy an increasing demand from UK contractors and plant hire companies wanting to upgrade now out-dated couplers on their excavator fleets.

Their decision comes in the wake of continuing safety concerns over the use of semi-automatic and single-locking automatic models and a move by a number of leading contractors to ban all but dual pin capture couplers from their sites.

This has, at a stroke, made thousands of excavators up and down the country ineligible for use on some of the major UK construction projects.

Hill claims that its Auto-Loc 3 model is the safest and most technically advanced quick coupler of its type on the market and says it has helped the company to establish itself as one the UK's leading specialists in the field of coupler design and production.

Not only does the 'new-for-old' program see Hill remove a customer's existing coupler and replace it with an Auto-Loc 3 model, but it also provides comprehensive on-site training, full installation assistance and guidance, after-sales support and advice, as well as any necessary customisation to suit individual customers’ specific coupler requirements.

Ian Hill, Managing Director of Hill Engineering, said the success of the 'new-for-old' program and the significant customer acclaim already received for the user-friendly Auto-Loc 3 coupler is both good news for Hill and for the construction industry.

“The widespread adoption of the dual pin capture technology will increase on-site safety and help prevent accidents and avoid fatalities for years to come.”

He also revealed that Hill has met with London-based Quattro Plant, the second largest UK railway orientated plant hire company, to discuss how the couplers can be adapted for use in the rail industry.

The rail industry has its own specific coupler requirements, due to the widespread use of specialised high value attachments. Many of these attachments cannot be disengaged in the normal crowded position without introducing further risks into the changeover.

Following several on-site visits to fully assess the risks involved, Hill demonstrated a solution at a meeting involving Quattro Plant and one of its major customers. The outcome of this was an agreement by all parties, and Quattro Plant is now fitting the Auto-Loc coupler to its machines.

Ian Hill said: “The response to our 'new-for-old' program has been overwhelming. However, having previously identified the safety concerns surrounding the use of semi-automatic couplers and single-locking automatic couplers, we anticipated the requirements of the industry and were already well prepared. We are therefore extremely well positioned to meet the increasing market demand.

“The adoption of the Auto-Loc 3 coupler by companies has been helped by the discounts available through the 'new-for-old' program, which reduces the cost of upgrading their couplers.

“Our Auto-Loc 3 success has many other benefits. By combining the exchange program with our safety message and thorough training, we are making a significant and positive impact on the safety of personnel on construction sites all over the UK.”

Safety is at the very heart of the Auto-Loc range. Hill has specialised in the design and manufacture of couplers for more than 15 years, and in 2005 set up an in-house R&D department specifically to find a solution that would eliminate the risk while using couplers.

The result, the original Auto-Loc, went on sale in August 2006 and further refinement, made by working with key customers, has resulted in the very latest Auto-Loc version.

Dual pin capture fully automatic couplers are a significant step forward within the coupler market, because not only do operators no longer need to leave the cab and insert a locking pin by hand, the coupler also locks onto each attachment pin independently.

This means that if the operator fails to connect the attachment properly with the back pin, the front pin will remain securely locked in place, ensuring that the attachment does not separate from the coupler.

The Auto-Loc coupler allows operators to visually confirm from within the cab that the bucket or other attachment is securely locked in position and only allows attachments to be released in a safe working position.

Although new semi-automatic couplers are no longer being supplied to the UK market as a result of a joint HSE and manufacturers’ agreement, the use of existing models is still allowed.

However, more and more sites are imposing bans on semi-automatic and single-locking automatic couplers, while a number of major contractors, including Bovis, Skanska and Balfour Beatty, say that they will only now permit excavators with dual pin capture couplers on their construction projects.

Tudor Thomas, chairman of Kaill Plant Hire, based in Stockport, Manchester, believes more contractors are likely to follow suit, which made upgrading his fleet a priority.

Kaill operates over 100 excavators including JCB, Terex, Takeuchi and Volvo machines, ranging from 1 tonne to 33 tonnes, which were fitted with a mix of semi-automatic and single-locking automatic couplers. The company is now investing in Auto-Loc 3 models after signing up to Hill’s ‘new-for-old’ program. Mr Thomas said: “The Auto-Loc 3 'new-for-old' programme is the best on the market and the implementation process has been very straightforward. Hill gave us the required training and provided us with on-site guidance.

“Subsequently the changeover of the couplers took just an hour, meaning less downtime for our machines. They couldn’t have done more for us.

“An increasing number of contractors are insisting on dual pin capture couplers and this will continue to cascade down the industry. Such is the speed of the change that if we did nothing, 75 per cent of our machines would be obsolete in 12 months time.

“Any company that has yet to look at replacing its couplers will miss out on the major UK construction projects.”

Another company which signed up to Hill's 'new-for-old' program is One Call Hire, based in Enfield, North London, with a current fleet comprising in excess of 500 machines.

Every machine over 13 tonnes that it has bought over the last three years has been fitted with Auto-Loc couplers and it has now bought 200 Auto-Loc 3 couplers for all of its smaller machines.

Anthony Fitzpatrick, One Call Hire's joint Managing Director, said: “We are very proactive when it comes to health and safety matters and prefer to stay ahead of legislation.

“We realise that semi-automatic couplers will probably be made illegal in a few years and we don’t want customers turning our machines down or having them barred from sites because they don’t have a fully automatic quick coupler.

“The Auto-Loc 3's advanced safety features were the main reason we switched, but there is another benefit. We replace our excavators after 14 months and having a safety feature like the Auto-Loc fitted means that when we sell them on, we are assured of a good price.”

The Auto-Loc 3 is compatible with a mixed range of attachments such as hammers and rippers and its success has provided Hill with valuable additional business despite the current downturn in the construction industry.

Mr Hill added: “There is no doubt that the Auto-Loc range has come of age and taken its place at the forefront of an industry in which safety is of paramount importance.”

“Manufacturing products that help to improve on-site safety has always been part of Hill Engineering’s philosophy and the Auto-Loc range of couplers is the epitome of everything we stand for.

“It is technologically advanced, expertly engineered, and, thanks to the success of our 'new-for-old' program, it will play a major role in ensuring that the kind of coupler-related accidents within the construction industry has now become a thing of the past.”

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Customers of iron technology leader Saint-Gobain PAM UK have given the company a glowing accolade in its latest independently commissioned customer survey.

Customers from across the country gave Saint-Gobain PAM UK high scores in the 20 issues that they deemed most important. These included: effectiveness of technical advice, quality of products, on time deliveries, ease of placing an order and speed of response to emergency situations. Leadership Factor Ltd, an independent research specialist, conducted an initial survey to establish the most important customer issues and then asked participants to measure how well Saint-Gobain PAM UK performed in these key areas.

Satisfaction scores across the 20 categories were all marked highly, with quality and technical performance of products and the effectiveness of the technical advice line among the most impressive scores. Ease of placing an order, the condition of goods and packaging on delivery and accuracy of invoicing all received an average score of more than eight out of ten.

Paul Minchin, managing director of Saint-Gobain PAM UK, commented: “We are delighted that, in the aspects that matter most to our customers, we have been given some very positive feedback and we are really pleased to see that our customers find us easy to do business with.

“Our highest rating was with ‘adherence to health and safety regulations’ – something that we consider to be the single most important issue within any business. We work hard to meet our ‘zero work related incidents’ and ‘zero occupational illness’ aims in every aspect of our operations. This commitment extends to our customers and we have been recently awarded by Morgan Est, a leading supplier, for our efforts in continuing to seek easier and safer handling methods for our products.

“Since the survey, Saint-Gobain PAM UK has pledged to continue to improve in key areas to maintain and increase levels of customer satisfaction and is actively looking to work with customers on how we can help improve our products and service offering.”

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Wireless Detect the New Wire-Free, Radio Fire System from detectomat is a unique solution and alternative to the costs associated with providing temporary Fire Alarm coverage for Construction Sites and Site Cabins.

Interconnection of the various Fire System components including detectors, manual call points, sounders and control panels can now be done with wire-free radio.

The system comprises of a range of battery operated, self-contained fire detection and alarm devices including Heat and third party certified Smoke Alarms plus Manual Call Points, Sounder Beacons and other fire peripherials. These devices are radio connected with each other via a Fire Panel base station, which provides comprehensive alarm indication and control including monitoring of the system network integrity and battery conditions.

The system is available on an outright purchase, lease or rental basis from Detectomat’s National Network of Reseller Partners, who will provide a full service from initial site survey to installation and service support.

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A new basement was dug beneath a four storey Victorian property in London and waterproofed with Isola Platon cavity drain membranes and Triton’s TT Vapour Membrane. Providing space for a home cinema, large bedroom suite and plant room, the property is being used as a showcase for similar projects by developers, Michael James Gallagher Projects Ltd.

R & D Management Ltd specified a Platon cavity drain membrane system to the walls with Aqua Channel drainage conduit around the perimeter discharging to sumps to the front and rear of the property. Cavity drain membranes work on the principle of allowing water to continue to penetrate the structure but control it in the air gap and divert it to a suitable drainage point. They do not allow pressure to build up against the internal construction and the air gap behind the membrane allows the structure to breathe. Once the membrane has been fitted, wall surfaces can be dry lined or plastered directly and floors can be screeded or a floating dry board system installed. The Platon system was installed by MGA Contracts Ltd. As an alternative to using a membrane to waterproof the floor, and to facilitate the installation of under floor heating, two coats of Triton’s liquid-applied TT Vapour Membrane were laid to the floor slab. Sand blinding of the surface provided a key for the subsequent levelling compounds before the installation of the heating system and the feature wood floor.

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Iron technology leader Saint-Gobain PAM UK has embarked on an ambitious programme to gain ‘World Class Manufacturing’ (WCM) status for not one but both of its UK production facilities.

The company currently operates from plants at Holwell, near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, where ductile iron access covers and gratings are produced, and Telford in Shropshire, which manufactures the company’s acclaimed range of cast iron rainwater and drainage systems.

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Metstrut secured a major contract to supply cable ladder and metal framing systems for the Heron Quay 2 office block, Canary Wharf, London.

Metstrut were awarded the contract because of the higher loading capacities of its cable ladder system and ability to guarantee fast manufacture and delivery to meet the stringent programme.

The robust nature of the Metstrut cable ladder allowed substitution of 100mm deep system in lieu of the 125mm deep system being contemplated which provided a more cost effective solution for the contractor, Balfour Kilpatrick.

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Mitsubishi Electric has launched a new Run Standby (RS) panel that replaces existing models to control up to eight systems on the Mr Slim or M Series range of air conditioning products.

The new RS_SMS Panel replaces the RS1 / RS2 / RS3 panels in one solution yet is both smaller and up to 33 per cent less expensive than previous models, whilst offering an optional SIM card facility to give full control from a mobile phone and allow the system to send text messages to report errors.

RS Panels are ideal for air conditioning systems serving computer rooms as they help maintain and control the constant temperatures required in the most energy efficient way possible. The panel allows operators to programme the operation of the systems allowing up to seven to act as a standby while the other systems operate.

This has the benefit of ensuring that units act as a back-up if any system should fail, or it can rotate the operation and share the workload between units to help prolong equipment life, or switch on additional systems if capacity is not achieved by the units running.

“We have looked to improve the panel in every area including making it easier to install with a 2-core cable connection for each indoor,” explains Philip Ord, Product Marketing Manager for Mitsubishi Electric. “At the same time, we have brought a product to the market that is smaller and offers more functions whilst being available at a lower price than previous models.”

The panel will monitor the connected systems and warn of errors or discrepancies, sending an SMS text message to an operator’s mobile phone and operators also have full control of the SMS panel via text.

“We have designed the new panel to offer complete flexibility for operators in how they control their standby configurations,” adds Ord. “The optional SMS text feature provides fault monitoring and remote control via a mobile phone.”

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