Spillard News

A 100 tonne class Sennebogen 870M Special re-handling machine, recently supplied to Sussex Port Forwarding’s Shoreham facility by E.H. Hassell & Sons, has been equipped with a four camera visibility system by Spillard Safety Systems of Gailey in Staffordshire to ensure maximum operating safety.

The wheel-mounted 870M is being used to unload mainly timber at a rate of some 350,000 cu m per annum plus some bulk materials when the lifting hook attachment is switched to a 4 cu m capacity clamshell bucket. Having replaced old, rope-operated cranes, the new machine has been chosen to provide greater flexibility of operation and faster ship turnaround.

The Spillard equipment selected for this application consists of two colour cameras magnetically mounted to each side of the re-handler’s 11 m long dipper arm, one beneath the elevating ‘skylift’ cab structure and one mounted at the rear of the machine. The cameras are coupled to a pair of 7” colour monitors mounted one above the other in the cab with handy rocker switches to allow the operator to choose any combination of views.

These views not only help the operator to position the boom accurately when picking up loads from within the holds of ships but also enable maximum operating safety by providing a wide angle of visibility around the whole machine.

According to Alan Motterham, general manager at Shoreham Port, “The views the operator has on the monitors is so good he can almost drive the machine without looking out of the cab windows!”