A Solution for every environment - Forklift trucks when used properly can be effective pieces of machinery capable of carrying out a range of tasks in a number of tough and arduous conditions. You can buy new and used Doosan Forktrucks for use on site or you can look into forklift truck hire from Ability Handling. Here we learn how this new Doosan forklift was adpated to life in a Quarry and even modified to do the Limbo...
Most recently a forklift truck was required for operation within the challenging environment of a local chalk quarry and this needed to be factory modified in order to comply with specific regulations and conditions which were in place on this site.
Doosan Forklift does the Limbo! - As part of its job cycle at the quarry the new truck has to pass under a low section of pipe work, which was identified during Ability's pre-quote site survey as being too low for a standard 3 ton forklift truck to travel underneath. Working closely with the clever chaps at the Doosan factory we were able to supply a new 3 ton forklift with an overall height reduction of 70mm to allow the truck to do its job. Vitally the modified truck was still able to meet with the EEC minimum drivers headroom regulations whilst now being able to 'limbo dance' safely underneath the low pipe work
Haste makes Waste - The new 3 tonne Doosan Forklift truck, model D30S-5, had its top speed limited from 17km/h to just 7km/h. The Quarry operation has an on site speed limit of 5mph which needed to be adhered to in order to reduce the chances of injury to a person.
Limiting the trucks speed meant that site safety was improved, any speeding drivers were stopped. Also there was a decrease in damage caused, lower fuel expenditure as well as a reduction in maintenance costs.
Avoiding the 'Grind' - Furthermore the transmission was fitted with a factory modification to limit transmission damage, when going from forward to reverse. This protects the transmission as well as the tyres. It works by stopping drivers of the forklifts from “slamming” the forklift straight from forward to reverse at high speeds (a habit which will save drivers time but which will result in expensive early transmission failure) and ultimately can save up to 300% in tyre wear savings per annum making your bank balance that little bit happier.
Further to this an adaptation was applied to the tyres this was to stop them spinning on harsh acceleration as well as limiting the wear and tear caused by sudden direction changes; making them last a lot longer in the chalk conditions that they were placed in.
Breath Easy - As standard all Doosan forklifts have a high level air intake to help prevent suction of dust and debris up from the floor however the dusty atmosphere of a Chalk quarry would still eventually clog the air intake of the standard forklift. Doosan offer several levels of additional protection for adaptation to dusty atmospheres and so the truck is equipped with a heavy duty, dual stage air filter and the air intake is 'guarded' by a turbo 2 pre-air cleaner; both of which work in combination to ensure the truck engine can breath easy.
Chalk up another happy Ability Customer - Chalk, a white permeable form of limestone has been quarried for decades. It is used for commonly within the building industry as well as used as marl which is put on fields. It is a much needed material and thus the Doosan Forklift truck is just one of the vital pieces of machinery which is used to quarry chalk.