JCB Puts its Cabs to the Test

British construction machinery manufacturer JCB carries out rigorous testing of all its equipment especially on its cab structures as we see in this recently released video.

It has long been the opinion of this blog that fully cabbed dumpers have to be the way to go for our industry. We also feel that the draconian regime of drivers having to dismount the machine while being loaded should be consigned to the history books too, as he or she will always be much safer remaining in the cab, rather than dismounting hundreds of times a day risking slips, trips and falls as well as the potential to be struck by other vehicles moving around.

Of course, the “men in suits” try to say that the excavator bucket could hit the cab, but in my years of operating I cannot recall anyone striking the steering wheel for instance. A competent operator on a machine is not going to hit a cab in my opinion, but of course accidents could happen so it’s good to know that the cabs meet the required safety standards.

To demonstrate the side impact strength of their SiTESAFE cab JCB deployed a 20-tonne class excavator to slew at half speed into the dumper cab, as we see in this video from JCB it’s a pretty dramatic stunt, but very reassuring to know just how strong the structure is.