Quick Hitches .. whats the state of play ?

[MadMike]

Seems to be a constrantly changing subject this ....... anyone have a definitive position on it ?

[Garry]

Re: Quick Hitches .. whats the state of play ?

Seems to be a bit of a minefield .. I heard all of GAP's kubotas got banned from all the Scottish water jobs, due to hitch failures. Most likely caused by dodgy maintenance I'd heard

If the jockey wont get out of his seat to put the safety pin in, what chance have you got ?

[MadMike]

Re: Quick Hitches .. whats the state of play ?

Yea I heard that .. whats the deal with safety pins and automatics then ,.. seems even the autos arent allowed :?

Check this

http://www.cpa.uk.net/p/Quick-Hitches/

The Strategic Forum Plant Safety Group does not recommend or favour any type of quick hitch, whether manual, semi automatic, or any type of fully automatic. There are two reasons for this.

blah

[Garry]

currently autos seem ok .. well thay have been on all the sites my stuffs been on anyway

[ste dalton]

hello mate ive been hire to balfour ive just had to get 2 new double locking hitchs for my backhoes. I found hill to be the best for my machine good luck ste dalton.

[Muz]

Nice one ste and welcome to the forum ..

Is it like one of these guys ?

[FnDaily]

Whered eeeeeeeeeee go ?

I tink thats the one he meant

Nice piece of kit btw

[Muz]

Ah ... saw this story today

Contractors cannot rely on double pin locking quick hitches to prevent all unscheduled detachments after a bucket fell from a machine with one of the latest generation of couplers. Nobody was injured in the incident and the machine, which was working on the M25 near Junction 22, was immediately quarantined for further investigation.
The 8t excavator was fitted with a Hill Autolock 3 coupler and was digging a catch pit on a batter when the incident occurred. Hill's product engineer Nick Elwell examined the unit on site and found it had been damaged to such an extent that the front safety jaw was not functioning.
Elwell said the damaged part (pictured behind an undamaged item) is extremely robust and he could not tell when the damage occurred or why the bucket fell because the lock for the rear pin was functioning correctly. One possible cause of the damage was that at some point an operator had tried to force the bucket pin into the closed coupler because they mistakenly thought the lock was spring loaded or activated by gravity - Hill's jaw is hydraulically held closed.
"The latest generation of quick hitches from the various manufacturers have different coupling and uncoupling procedures so it really is down to operator training and familiarisation to ensure they are used correctly," Elwell said. "If operators have to use any kind of force to couple or uncouple an attachment, something is wrong and they should investigate - that goes for any make of coupler."
Elwell emphasises that the front locks on all the latest coupler designs are visible from the cab to allow the operator to check it has engaged before they start work.
The Strategic Forum, the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA), Balfour Beatty and many others go further, recommending that each time the attachment is changed the operators get out of the cab to check the coupler has engaged properly before resuming work. Kevin Minton from the CPA who chaired the working group that drafted the Best Practice Guide said: "If people only remember one thing it is to keep site members away from the working area of the machine then, as in this case, if an unscheduled detachment does happen, nobody gets hurt."

youd pretty much think it would be common sense to test the bucket fully before resuming work

[JD450A]

What ever happened to the simple "leaver it off" test that were taught at college?

[Muz]

What ever happened to the simple "leaver it off" test that were taught at college?

But the guys wont get out of the cab .. thats the problem .. lazy b*star%s

BTW hows about we have a "can you tell what it is thread" .. see that pic above .. you can see a window catch on the RHS .. now who can tell which machine its off

[ianoz]

Well the Catch looks to be made out of plastic ,So JCB ??? .Ian .

[Muz]

Well the Catch looks to be made out of plastic ,So JCB ??? .Ian .

It cant be .. its still attached to the machine

[JD450A]

I'd hazard a guess it's off a Komatsu.

If it was a jcb it'd be made out of very expensive twine.

[adrian71]

hello mate ive been hire to balfour ive just had to get 2 new double locking hitchs for my backhoes. I found hill to be the best for my machine good luck ste dalton.

How do you rate the hill q hitch as ihave to get one myself and its between the miller twin lock and hill thanks in advace adrian.

[Garry]

How do you rate the hill q hitch as ihave to get one myself and its between the miller twin lock and hill thanks in advace adrian.

Hi adrian and welcome to the forum mate .. we dont know where ste dalton has gone ? so I'll try and offer some view for you .. is the hitch required for a MCG site or is it for your own use ?