THE KNOWLEDGE
Introducing know-how
The first in a new series of practical how-to articles aimed at improving safety in heavy
transport and lifting operations. We are excited to announce that MARCO VAN DAAL will
regularly contribute his extensive industry knowledge for the benefit of all readers
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marco J. van
Daal has been
in the heavy lift
and transport
industry since
1993. He started
at Mammoet
Transport from the
Netherlands and
later with Fagioli
PSC from Italy,
both esteemed
companies and leading authorities in the
industry. His 20-year plus experience
extends to five continents and more than
55 countries.
It has resulted in a book
The Art of
Heavy Transport
, available at:
Van Daal has a real passion for sharing
knowledge and experience, the prime
reason, he says, for the seminars he holds
all over the world. He lives in Aruba, Dutch
Caribbean, with his wife and two daughters.
nature and who discovered them. I realise
that not everybody is an avid reader of
history but I assure you that it will help you
understand the future articles much better
with this theory “in your pocket.”
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20
March 1727), an English physicist and
mathematician, is by many regarded as
the greatest genius who ever lived. He
contributed to science in different fields,
including the laws of planetary motion,
speed of sound, light spectrum and the
binomial theorem (for the mathematically
gifted amongst us). He is, however, best
known for the contents of his book,
Principia Mathematica
(1687), in which he
explains three physical laws that form the
basis for classical mechanics. These laws
are now known as Newton’s laws of motion.
NEWTON’S FIRST LAW
Newton’s first law says that if there is
no resulting force on an object, then its
velocity is constant. The object is either at
rest (velocity of zero), or it moves with a
W
elcome to the first in a series of
articles in which a number of
topics related to the heavy lift
and transport industry are highlighted,
explained and demystified. The main
reason for writing these articles is that I
believe a good explanation of a theory or
topic, or just a situation that one ran into,
is more valuable than somebody showing
you how to do something without telling
you why it is done that way.
Although our industry has moved,
shipped, lifted and transported some of
the most amazing cargo of unimaginable
sizes and unthinkable weights, there
are a few very basic laws of nature
that these moves abide by. A thorough
understanding of these laws of nature
will aid in proper equipment selection,
recognition of the forces and a timely
identification of unwanted situations.
Believe it or not, there are still too
many accidents that result in equipment
damage and injury or loss of life. This
first article will, therefore, not cover heavy
transport or lifting. Instead it goes back
in history and touches on these laws of
INTERNATIONAL AND SPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
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JULY 2013
33
Sir Isaac Newton in
1689 when he was 46
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