Safe Slewing

A few days ago I gave Scott, our chief engineer a lift down to the docks to pick up a new mobile pump - just rolled off the ferry from Germany. However beforehand there was a client nearby who needed a quick problem solved.

They were about to start using an SPB32 separate placing boom to place the concrete on a new development which was quite close to some high voltage power lines. Of course any metal (or earthed object) getting too close to these things is inviting serious trouble so they wanted us to restrict the slewing angle so the boom couldn't get too close to the lines.

We climbed up the tower and Scott set to work and programmed the necessary restrictions and had tested the results in what was probably less than half an hour while I took a few shots from the platform.

It was interesting to see an example of the variety of things our engineers are asked to do. It was also interesting (and quite affirming) to see how quickly and easily a Schwing Separate Placing Boom can be adjusted in this way.

Small Certification

Over a few months around the end of 2014 / start of 2015 we gained four National Small Series approval documents from the United Kingdom Vehicle Approval Authority, the VCA. This means that Schwing Stetter (UK) is:

"able to prepare for vehicles built in full conformity with this approval to be presented for registration."

The four certificates were for DAF, Mercedes, Scania and Volvo and mean we can mount mixer drums on these chassis and do all the bodywork with the national authority confident that the work will be carried out to the standard required for registration.

The actual certificates are three pages long and we decided it would be nice to display these, together with the vehicles they refer to. These four displays, shown above, now sit proudly in our board room.

Innovation Award Shortlist

Back in February I mentioned that we had just solved a problem with a bit of innovative customisation regarding the opening of the drum flap on a mixer truck. Well it seems that the client wasn't the only one impressed by the work.

We have been shortlisted for the 'London Innovation of the Year' category of the London Construction Awards 2015.

Its nice to have our work recognised and it certainly shows what a great engineering team we have here. Here is a picture of the finished open drum flap on the truck having now been painted up.

If you want to see it actully working - there are a couple of short videos on our website customisation page here...

Some Recognition

Having churned out numerous custom built truck mounted static concrete pumps and other bespoke work for customers, Rob our chief welder remarked that it was unfortunate that people who saw them out and about wouldn't realise we had done all the bodywork customisation as well. They'll just think we did the pump but they won't know we started with a truck chassis which needed to be cut down and added everything on there ourselves.

So we've had some plates and stickers made up to let people know. Here is Rob proudly mounting the first such plate onto a customised truck mixer. And here it is below...

Open To Ideas

A few mornings ago, Rob our chief welding engineer asked me to get some video of something he had just finished customising.

A client had asked if we could adjust a truck mixer so the drum flap could open all the way up so the mixture could be properly inspected. The answer was of course 'yes' - we are an engineering company after all. So here we have the hydraulic fully opening drum flap on a mixer truck, custom engineered by the Schwing Stetter (UK) team.

Apparently the client was so impressed they have ordered a whole lot more of them!

You can see how it works here below. The first video was taken before the safety guard was attached so you can see the workings. The second is after it was put on.






See more about our customisation on our website here: http://www.schwing-stetter.co.uk/Pages/Customisation.aspxhttp://www.schwing-stetter.co.uk/Pages/Customisation.aspx.

The Schwing Stetter Blog

Hi,

I'm Simon Densley and I'm the marketing manager here at Schwing Stetter (UK) Ltd in Perivale, London (or Middlesex if you want to be particular).

As well as upgrading the company website, organising ads to go in trade magazines and ordering branded clothing, there are many interesting things I find my self doing or finding out about in this role.

For a start, the products we sell are amazing. And I'm not just saying that 'cos I'm supposed to be marketing them. What I mean is the whole concept of pumping wet concrete through pipes and the pressures involved is mind blowing. As Hughie Byrne, one of the directors pointed out the other day, a hand grenade explodes at 40bar (which is around 40 times normal atmospheric pressure). Our pumps are pushing concrete through pipes typically at over 100 bar. Our most powerful machine (SP 8800) can push at 243bar. That's some serious engineering.

That means we can push concrete to the top of any skyscraper or the length of any tunnel. And every part of that system, including the steel pipes and the couplings that join them, have to withstand those pressures, not occasionally, but every day for years and years. And they do. Only working with jet engines I think would surpass concrete pumps.

Of course we sell other concrete related engineering products as well including truck mixers, batching plants and recycling plants and they are all astonishing examples of precision engineering in their own ways when you come to know about them.

The other really amazing this here is how good the engineers are at their job. They are so versatile and can seemingly not only fashion anything out of steel but can add some hydraulics to make it do stuff as well!

So seeing as there is so much interesting stuff going on here, it seems the time has come for a Schwing Stetter blog. Enjoy!