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JCB with GKD’s Advanced Height Limiter

GKD Technologies designs, develops and produces height, slew and load safety control systems for general construction equipment and also Road Rail vehicles (RRVs). One of the latest innovations from GKD Technologies is an Advanced Height Limiter system which provides real-time height monitoring and protection to all types of Telehandler. Lynch Plant Hire is the first company in the UK to fit this system to one of its newest machines – a JCB 540-140 Loadall Telehandler, which is now working on the HS2 rail project. The system was installed by GKD official installer, Ben Welham of BW Eng Ltd.

The system is a great solution for guarding against overhead danger, designed for use when telehandlers are operating in restricted or confined spaces - underneath power lines, or while lifting into buildings. Using a dedicated, integrated angle and boom extension sensor the system continually measures the angle of the boom together with the length of the extension of the telescopic section of the telehandler. This ensures height limits are not exceeded.

BW Eng’s Ben Welham explained in more detail how the system works. “The idea of the system is it will functionally limit the telehandlers capabilities to go beyond any inputted height limits which have been set on the machine, therefore there can be no damage to infrastructure, personnel or other machinery in the area. The system is self-explanatory and operator-friendly and there are two different settings you can use where you can manually key in height limits or set automatically by positioning the machine at the required working height.

“To set a height limit the system will ask you to raise your telehandler arm to a position where it is in safe parameters to operate,” Ben continued. “For example, if your arm is raised to 3.26 metres, this is then indicated on the screen, you then adjust the control key switch to and the machine is in a ‘locked’ position and will not operate beyond the set parameter of 3.26 metres. The system will stop the machine before the limit is reached, and to err on the side of caution, there’s a 500mm window before the exact limit is reached, so you can’t over achieve if, for example, you are travelling at speed.

“You are also able to manually key in a height limit if you already are aware of your working height,” said Ben. “The system also will also take into consideration the ‘telehandler’ part of the boom. Once the height is set for the job – the control key can be removed which then makes it tamper-proof and impossible to override the limits set.” 

The JCB telehandler went straight to work on the HS2 rail project with Lynch customer Buckingham Group Contracting. Matt Smith, Project Manager, Buckingham Group Contracting, commented on the system. “We were pleased with the Telehandler system on site.  The system was fit for purpose, restricting the telehandler from operating outside the safe working zone.  This helped us to ensure that we were working safely and reducing risk for our operators.”

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