http://www.theage.com.au/national/man-dies-crushed-by-pump-20091015-gz71.html

Every time I see one of these it makes me sick, another family lost a  loved one.

My thoughts go out to them…..

Fore the rest, in my position at Putz I am continually amazed at the lack of proper training that operators get, just evolving from a small pump to a larger one is not enough, Very few read the manual and learn the requirements to be a responsible operator.

   Being taught by an old school operator isn’t always a good idea either; lots of bad habits get passed down. Please take the time to consult the manual, the various groups in the industry that are dedicated to Safe operation of your Pump, they all vary and have differing needs, learning the reason for those needs is  where the manual helps.

  All Manufactures are motivated to safe operation of their machines. Please contact them, just because it is the way it has always been done does not make it the correct and the safe way. Do YOU know the way to correctly put down dunage, How big does it need to be for your pump, can the soil take the load, these seam to be a simple thing that quite a few do not get trained to do correctly.

  Please take this opportunity to ask yourself questions like that, I get students of all age/experience ranges in the classes and I am constantly proud when they learn something new about operating the pumps in a safe manner, it shows a true professional that says, I just learned something new. The beauty of this industry is learning something new every day.

I will tell a short story,

I was visiting a customer and doing an In-service for a new pump, the operator was a green horn so I chose the opportunity to show him how to calculate the PSI this unit placed on the ground with the unit loaded. There were about 6 operators of all levels of experience looking on. None of them were able to do the calculations and didn’t fully understand the process. We spent the time and all learned a little bit, some more than others. So CAN YOU DO IT. After the group broke up the senior operator took me aside and thanked me for showing them this and he confessed he thought he knew it but years and age had blurred the concept.

  Please don’t be bashful. Operators are not known to be shy…… Take this opportunity to check your procedures and routines, are you sure you are doing it correct?

Please feel free to contact the CSG at PM 800 890 0269

Or myself  Alan Woods 360 600 5695

woodsa@putzam.com

We love questions.

Be safer my friends.

Alan

How about crane operators outside Ca? I have a friend of mine that had to have certs and training before he could work and yet you can take a pump out with a class B? How many pump operators out there were self taught? I hate regulation but it sure seems we need some type of training to run these beast. Anyone out there with a pilots cert knows the training involved. It has always amazed me///

My prayers go out to this mans family, I cant even imagine what there thoughts were when they got the bad news.

Travelteck, thanks for that post and the wording in which you made it . Everyone in this industry learns as we go and to be able to educate people along the way on the safe operation of Concrete booms like you do makes this industry so much better for all involved.

@mtpumper, you are right we do need some regulations in place from our govt agencies all over the USA and the world.In the safe operations of concrete placing booms, starting from the manufactures themselves right down to the owners.

Training is key with this equipment, I know it happens all the time when an operator used to a 28 meter pump is suddenly put in the position to run a 58 meter pump. There are alot of differant issues between the two machines but his boss says he has to do it , so the operator figures it out on his own with no formal training saying he can actually safely and professionally run that equipment.

There have been professionals in this business that for along time have tried unsuccesfully to get concrete boom pumps to be regulated the same as cranes are . Both peices of equipment work similiar and over workers heads . So why are they not regulated the same as far as safety/certifications to operate/inspections/repairs etc etc .??

I will tell you why , cause there is alot of financial gain from pump companies not having to follow strict safety procedures and they have put alot of money into there congressman/woman hands for not regulating this industry, and I must include the pump manufactures in this also.Heck most companies can even license there pumps as off road equipment to avoid higher taxes, they should be licensed as a semi truck/trailor is, they use the same roads dont they ?

The bottom line is unfortunatly there will have to be more accidents like this one posted before govt and owners and manufactures all get on the same page and realize that this equipment has certain inherant liabalous qualities to it and operators need to be trained and licensed to operate them.

The upside if regulations were ever instituted all pump owners could charge a much more realistic fee for there equipment and be justified for doing it , just like the crane industry does right now.And our industry could remain prosperous and safe from these types of disasters.

Hope this made sense to everyone ? I just get sickened everytime I see a story like this that most likely could have been prevented.

Very sad for sure.

so what's the formula to figure psi on the ground? i live and work in southeast texas and it would definitely help me to know these things. half of our traveling weight is dunnage down here. some days what i have is just barely enough.

To calculate PSI on the ground.

Take the size of your Pad standard 2 foot square or 24 X 24 = 576 Sq inches.

Outrigger load Example 56,000 Lbs

56,000 divided by 576 = 97.2 PSI

Of course your unit will have a different Max load so just install your load found on the outrigger.

It you build a 36 inch square pad with suitable material the math is

36 X 36 = 1296 sq in

56,000 divided by 1296 = 43.20 PSI

Notice how much the PSI on the soil is reduced by increasing from a 24 X 24  inch foot print 97.2 PSI, to a 36 X 36  inch foot print 43.20 PSI.  This is an example of the calculation with basic numbers.

This equation is also found in most manuals,

Not all job sites will have Engineering analysis of soil conditions, but remember, the bigger the area on the soil the lower the PSI on the soil.

Check with your local contractors for the average on soil load pressures for your location.

I hope this helps If you would like to talk about this deeper call me.

360-600-5695

woodsa@putzam.com

Alan

excellent Teck, I made copy for myself . great info.

good to know. i usually have 4'x5' on the pour side of the pump. thanks man.

John X 3

That’s good to hear that is about 2,880 Sq inches. How thick are the pads.

Did you find the Load for your machine it might be in Newton meters, I have a conversion program I can e-mail you.

Thanks for growing.

56,000 ÷ 2880 = 19.44 PSI

Insert your unit load and you have it.

I learned also I found out how to insert the Division sign.  ÷

Some thing new every day.

i live and work in southeast texas and it would definitely help me to know these things.

Just have a lumber truck follow you down there.Never trust the ground that moves 50' away when mixer backs in.When I was down in that area a 36m was big,can't imagine how you folks do it now.