New SPMT best practice guide scheduled for next year

The Working Group overseeing a new edition of ESTA’s SPMT best practice guide hopes to finish its work by the second half of next year.

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.

Eleven leading European companies have said they will join ESTA’s discussions
from eight different countries, reflecting the widespread concern across Europe. They are Collett, Cometto, DNV, Fagioli, Mammoet, Sarens, Siemens Gamesa, Technip Energies, Terra Navtica, Tii Group and Wagenborg.

ESTA Director Ton Klijn said: “It has been increasingly clear that SPMT training and operational standards need to be improved, both for reasons of project management efficiency as well as safety.”

ESTA’s well-received best practice guide for the use of self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) was first published in 2016 and was translated into six languages to meet demand.

The guide 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.

The first edition of the guide is still available for free download from the Library of ESTA’s website in English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish.