Spillard News

Spillard Safety Systems of Gailey in Staffordshire has equipped a pair of Liebherr R984 120 tonne ship loaders with wireless CCTV systems to enable the operators to accurately and safely load prepared scrap metal into ship’s holds at Liverpool Docks without the need for banksmen.

            The two machines form part of a large fleet of equipment operated by S. Norton & Co, one of the UK’s leading metal processing and recycling organisations currently exporting hundreds of thousands of tonnes of scrap metal per annum, principally to the Far East.

            Loading 40,000 – 50,000 tonne capacity ships at a rate of approximately two per month, the pair of Liebherr machines can now distribute loose and baled scrap evenly within the holds for maximum stability and without causing any contact damage to the ship – a main concern of Nortons. This accuracy is achieved by the operators being able to clearly see the clamshell grab attachments when lowered into the ships hold on the screens of cab-mounted

colour monitors. The crisp images from cameras temporarily mounted to hatch combings are transmitted through  5.8Ghz wireless systems. The 5.8Ghz frequency will support additional channels should further machines be added to the company’s fleet in the future.

            According to S. Norton’s operations manager Dave Matthews: “We have been using Spillard equipment on some of our other mobile plant for several years and so were very happy to install these new wireless CCTV systems which are proving perfect for the job and have saved the cost of the extra staff that used to act as ‘spotters’ for the crane drivers.”