German manufacturer Goldhofer is the latest leading company to join ESTA’s expert working group tasked with revising and expanding its SPMT best practice guide.
The group hopes to publish the new document in mid-2023. The group has so far held five meetings and has decided to publish the results of its work as guidance rather than trying establish a new CEN or ISO norm which could take as long as five years.
Concern has been growing in the industry at the lack of recognised training qualifications and the need to improve safety standards as the SPMT market grows.
The group has agreed that the expanded best practice guide will have three elements –
- stability guidelines
- equipment guidelines
- operational guidelines
Apart from Goldhofer, eleven other leading European companies have said they will join ESTA’s discussions. They come from eight different countries, reflecting the widespread concern abiut SPMT standards across Europe. They are Collett, Cometto, DNV, Fagioli, Mammoet, Sarens, Siemens Gamesa, Technip Energies, Terra Navtica, Tii Group and Wagenborg.
The first edition of the guide, published in 2016, was originally intended to help address the problem of trailers occasionally tipping over, even though the existing operating rules and stability calculations had been followed.
It is still available for free download from the Library of ESTA’s website in English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish.