INTERNATIONAL ANDSPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
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APRIL 2015
17
PRODUCTNEWS
moveshigher, thereby reducingneckand
back strain.
TheProcab is a tower craneoperator
cabin that canbeusedat anyheight on
a tower crane’smast that is selectedby
theoperator asproviding theoptimum
workingposition.Abenefit is that the
operator isno longer required to climb
ladders. In combination these features
provide a rangeof health, safetyand
productivitybenefits for employees,
employers and contractors alike.
Studies (see referencesbox story) show
that the ergonomicsof a traditional tower
craneoperator environment arenot ideal
becauseof the amount of time that the
operatoroften spends inaposition that
ishunched forwards, neckbent, leaning
heavilyonhands, arms and shoulders,
trying to seedownwards, lookingbetween
the legs and through the floorof the cabin.
Operators complainabout thisbut little
hasbeendone to improve the situation,
Loftmyr says.Hewon first prize in the
>
Talk of legislative
requirements surrounding
operator access canbe
added to theprimary
benefits of workplace
ergonomics, good
practice and awareness
of thebenefits of operator
welfare, inhelpingdrive
development of Procab,
an improved tower crane
operatorwork station.
LEIFLOFTMYR, inventor
andProcabElevationCEO,
explained it toALEXDAHM
P
rocab is a solution for several
problems associatedwith tower
craneoperations, Leif Loftmyr,
its inventor andowner, told
IC
.As
an elevatingoperator cabin for tower
cranes, ProcabElevation’s cabin is a
devicedesignedprimarily to improve the
ergonomicsof the craneoperator’swork
place and tominimise the riskofmedical
problems causedby, or exacerbatedby, an
uncomfortableoperating environment.
“Amongotherbenefits it alsomeets the
increasinglyprevalent (possibly legal)
requirement foroperators toaccess their
workplaceviaassistedmechanicalmeans
rather thanhaving to climb ladders,”
Loftmyr explains.
Leif Loftmyr got the idea for theProcab
back in the late1980swhenhe first started
selling tower cranes.Hewas interested to
knowhow the craneoperatorworks sohe
climbeda crane and followedanoperator
for aday. Loftmyr soon realised thatmany
things couldbedone to improve the
working environment.He saw that itwould
bebetter for theoperator to sit closer to
the loadingandunloadingpoints and to
be able to follow theproject’sprogress as it
Ideal elevation
At height theoperator doesnot have to
negotiateany deckor catwalk transfer
between ladder and cabin
Benefits of beingat
the right height for
a close, clear and
comfortable viewof
the loadare clearly
demonstratedhere
SwedishConstructionBusiness forHealth
&Safetyawards in1989 for theProcab.
Safety is also enhancedbybeingable
toposition theoperator at aheight that
provides thebest balancebetween the
viewof the load, both forpicking it upand
