Skip to main content

Sheffield duty for a Miller PowerLatch

The Miller PowerLatch Tilt was recently the attachment of choice for Yorkshire-based engineering consultancy JN Bentley, part of global engineering consultancy Mott MacDonald.
June 3, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
Miller PowerLatch Tilting Quick Hitch: a 180° tilt

The Miller PowerLatch Tilt was recently the attachment of choice for Yorkshire-based engineering consultancy JN 6197 Bentley, part of global engineering consultancy 2579 Mott MacDonald.

As part of the work to relocate waste treatment works in Stocksbridge, near Sheffield, England, Bentley laid new pipes along Manchester Road.

But space was restricted and the team looked at a different way to break out the rock. Using a 13T 2300 Komatsu PC138 excavator initially fitted with a standard quick hitch, the team started shearing the walls by hand. Due to the single-lane closure, the Komatsu had to stay central to the dig and, therefore, the team encountered challenges with breaking through rock in a restricted working area.

The team trialled a number of traditional and alternative methods, such as using a lightweight, remote controlled excavator with a breaker.

Then the team trialed a Miller PowerLatch Tilting Quick Hitch. It operates the same as a traditional automatic quick hitch, easily connecting buckets but with the added capability of 180° tilt.

The team could then use a breaker to shear the sides. This meant eliminating HAVS - hand-arm vibration syndrome - associated with breaking out by hand while being far more cost -effective compared to other methods. The tilt motion was also beneficial using the bucket to scrape the clay side walls.

“The PowerLatch Tilt provided a simple and flexible solution, allowing the team to angle the breaker to shear the sidewalls of the trench without the need to constantly reposition the machine,” said Andy Ball, Bentley’s plant manager. “It saved the team time, money and avoided the need for colleagues to work in the trench, exposing them to vibration/HAVS associated with traditional methods.” 

“Miller have managed to deliver the lightest tilt frame in the marketplace with the lowest profile to offer optimised breakout force whilst increasing strength in traditionally highly stressed areas,” said Brendan Quill, 6739 Miller UK’s marketing director.

“The top bolted attachment method removes a notoriously troublesome welded connection seen in a number of other tilt couplers available on the market.”  

 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Geith shows off its latest quick couplers
    January 6, 2017
    Geith, an attachment manufacturer, is filling out its quick coupler range. Geith specialises in hydraulic quick couplers from 1-85tonnes and excavator buckets ranging from 1-75tonnes. The company’s quick coupler range now covers the 1-2tonnes size, 2-4 tonnes and 4-6 tonnes, says Jurgen Gremez, global sales and marketing manager. The company, founded in 1959, has traditionally sold most of its products in France, the United Kingdom and North America, in both Canada and the United States. But it is
  • Managing urban motorway complexity in Sydney
    October 4, 2012
    Sydney’s Hills M2 motorway is being widened while still carrying traffic and meeting tough environmental criteria More than 100,000 vehicles and over 27,000 bus commuters use the Hills M2 motorway on a typical workday, making it one of Sydney’s busiest motorway corridors. Owned and managed by Hills Motorway Ltd (HML) and a key part of the city’s orbital motorway network, the road stretches over 21km, providing a seamless link between the Lane Cove Tunnel and Westlink M7. The Hills M2 Upgrade is one of many
  • Mott MacDonald wins Erika storm damage repair work in Dominica
    August 16, 2017
    Mott MacDonald is providing design work for 20km of the Loubiere to Bagatelle road rehabilitation project in Dominica. The client, Dominica’s ministry of public works, is repairing the route following significant damage by tropical storm Erika in 2015. A grant from the UK’s Department for International Development has been provided to Dominica through the Caribbean Development Bank. Completion of works Mott MacDonald’s work is expected in 2019.
  • Mott Macdonald handling major Hong Kong project
    July 24, 2012
    Engineering firm Mott MacDonald has been commissioned to head the team designing the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge link road. The Dragages-China Harbour-VSL joint venture appointed Mott MacDonald as lead designer for the 9.4km long viaduct section of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. This US$1.66 (HK$12.9 billion) project is the largest single design and build contract ever awarded in Hong Kong. The bridge will carry a dual three-lane carriageway over the Pearl River Estuary, which is one of the world’s bu