Experts working on ESTA’s plans for a new best practice guide and training scheme for Modular Hydraulic Suspended Trailers and SPMTs are developing a graded operator licence structure to take account of the type of transport and the complexity of the project involved.
They are also developing an agreed set of additional requirements for operators working on specialised equipment such as blade lifters in the wind energy sector.
These were two of the results from the latest round of meetings of the ESTA MHST experts group.
Work on an expanded and updated best practice guide for the operation of Modular Hydraulic Suspended Trailers and SPMTs is progressing well and ESTA hopes to release the first complete draft by the association’s 50th anniversary meeting later this year.
The project – one of the biggest and most complex ever undertaken by ESTA – also gave rise to the development of the European Trailer Operator Licence (ETOL) project now being developed alongside the new guide.
ESTA’s first SPMT guide was published in 2016, and 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 in English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish from the ESTA website.
The new MHST guide will have three broad section covering trailer operations, engineering and operator training.
In the engineering section, papers on transport stability and trailer-surface interface – that is guidance for analysing the interaction between MHSTs and the surface or structure it is standing on – have been completed.
Two further engineering section papers on engineering levels and trailer information are currently being reviewed.
As well as details of additional training requirements for specialised equipment and more complex projects, the operator training section will include details of the generic training design, expected learning outcomes, guidelines for training institutes and a glossary of terms.
Management of the ETOL scheme itself will be run alongside ESTA’s already established European Crane Operators Licence.
ESTA Director Ton Klijn said: “This is a major and extremely important project for ESTA, our members and the wider industry. We firmly believe that improved technical guidance coupled with properly regulated operator training are essential for a safer and more efficient future.
“We look forward to presenting the results of our – and our members’ – hard work later this year, and hearing the wider industry’s suggestions and comments.”