Written by Christophe Koldrasinski.
During extreme outdoor temperatures and heatwaves, working conditions for crane operators become even more demanding than usual. Most companies take sufficient measures to prevent heat-related problems for their employees, but we must not lose sight of the machines either—such as the material handling cranes—in this scorching heat. What measures should be taken to reduce the heavy working conditions for these cranes?
Clean the air conditioning filters to maintain fresh air in the cabin. There are two filters in the cabin: one behind the small plastic door on the outside of the cabin, and another inside the cabin under the operator’s seat.
The engine is the machine’s power source. Make sure air can circulate freely and clean the air filters regularly. Also check the Top Air cyclone pre-filter.
Make sure to only select the air recirculation mode when working in dusty environments. The supply of fresh outside air is preferable under normal outdoor working conditions. In automatic mode, the system adjusts the fan speed to achieve the best cooling performance with the least ambient noise.
Do not set the cabin temperature too low. The number next to the thermometer symbol on the A/C display shows the outside temperature. Setting it to about 2°C below the outside temperature is a good reference. 22°C is the midpoint between the red and blue zones (no number shown on the display); each click raises or lowers the temperature by 2°C.
Use the automatic engine stop. If the machine is not working, it’s costing you money. Not only is it consuming fuel, but the hour meter keeps running as well, which lowers the machine’s residual value.
Since the introduction of the new cabin, the armrest moves with the seat. This prevents additional shoulder movement during rough operations. The position and angle of the armrest can be individually adjusted to the most comfortable position.
For best efficiency and to save fuel: once the grab is filled with material, stop the grab function by returning the joystick to neutral. Move only the stick, boom, and swing functions to reposition the machine. Do not keep pressure on the grab. A good grab holds the material even without system pressure.
Our reversible filter helps keep the coolers clean and reduces daily maintenance time. During this process, the cooling system cleans the coolers, and cooling performance is temporarily reduced. To prevent system overheating, the interval time of the reversible filter should be set according to actual needs (more or less dusty environment).