visual and audible signals, ensuring that he/she is aware at all
times of the state of the load and what can be safely lifted. The
system provides an accurate calculation and display of the ‘safe
working load’, which is calculated as 85% of the machine’s rated
tipping load (ISO8813), thereby providing an additional margin of
safety. It also displays the actual load on the hook.
The LMS monitor graphically displays all information required
by the operator on the state of his load and also utilises a series
of lights moving from green to red, when the safe working load
is reached. These lights are mirrored on the external boom-
mounted light bars, which communicate to other operators on
the line, but especially to the lowering-in foreman.
On the Greek project, pipelayer
operator Panagiotis Sotiropoulos was
quick to see the benefit. “The LMS
is a fantastic help in the lowering-in
application. As an operator you can
see the work loads of all the other
machines, thanks to a system of lights
mounted on both sides of the boom
and if one machine is overloaded you
can see that and help. This makes the
whole work process much safer and
easier for the lowering-in foreman and
the operators.”
A choice of single, double or triple
grouser shoes is available depending on
underfoot conditions, although when
it gets really tough, single grousers
provide just the right grip and traction
to keep them moving.
All-round safety
To assure safety for personnel on the
ground – whether pedestrian or in any
vehicles moving along the right-of-way
(ROW) – both rear and side-mounted
cameras are fitted.
On the large, in-cab monitor, the operator can select to view
the camera images either separately or, with a split screen, both
images simultaneously. This additional reassurance only serves to
underline the importance of site safety.
As travel speed is not an issue in lowering-in, Volvo
pipelayers can and do work equally well alongside conventional
sidebooms or most likely in soft, sandy conditions, crawler
cranes, or sometimes both. This was the case with Italian pipeline
contractor Ghizzoni working on the Bunde-Etzel 48 in. gas
pipeline in northern Germany. The green lights of the LMS on the
Volvo pipelayers are clearly visibile, showing their ease with the
load.
Figure 5.
Lowering-in alongside crawler cranes in soft, sandy
conditions: L’artère des Flandres in northern France.
Figure 7.
Lowering-in alongside sidebooms on a project close
to Parma, Italy.
Figure 6.
Rough terrain, rocks and slopes; when the going gets tough, the tough PL4608s
get going.
102
World Pipelines
/
FEBRUARY 2016
