Crawler Crane

Crawler crane certified as per new Machinery Directive

TÜV SÜD Industrie Service supported TADANO MANTIS in the launch of a telescopic-boom crawler crane on the European market

_{March 2010}

The introduction of the new Machinery Directive has brought in its wake higher demands on the technological and legal know-how required in certification. Extensive risk assessments, for example, have become mandatory. For the launch of its innovative GTC-700EX crawler crane, US company TADANO MANTIS Corporation commissioned TÜV SÜD Industrie Service GmbH to carry out integrated risk assessments. The TÜV SÜD experts also advised the US crane manufacturer on the CE marking which is mandatory in the EU.

"The Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC is a central element of the CE directives and therefore a prerequisite for the approval of machinery on the EU market", explains Dr Rolf Zöllner, Risk Manager and Liaison Officer for the Machinery Directive network of expertise at TÜVSÜD Industrie Service. "The risk assessment required in this context must also provide quantitative categorization of the probability of occurrence and the consequences of possible risks.“ Possible risks include health risks for crane operators and servicing staff within the scope of occupational health and safety. The HazardPro software tool developed by TÜV SÜD plays a significant role in the assessment process. The tool visualizes the results in a risk matrix which forms the basis for deriving specific risk-mitigation measures.

Extensive testing for CE marking

"TÜV SÜD was an ideal partner for us, supporting us in placing the innovative GTC-700EX on the European market", notes Julie Fuller, Vice President of Engineering at TADANO MANTIS Corporation. "The German experts not only assessed our telescopic-boom crawler crane in accordance with the European machinery directive 2006/42/EC and the EN 13000 standard for mobile cranes; they also specified the necessary tests." On this basis, MANTIS engineers then put the new product through its paces and assessed it against a comprehensive roster of quality requirements. Key task was to harmonize the existing structural analyses based on US requirements with the European requirements set forth in the EN 13000 standard.

TÜV SÜD then checked the analyses for completeness and plausibility. The Munich-based testing and certification organization also measured vibration and noise and reviewed the instruction manual and the technical file. Julie Fuller comments, "TÜV SÜD's interdisciplinary know-how and long-standing experience give us the certainty of legal compliance. In addition, our intensive collaboration with the German engineers provided additional impetus for ongoing product improvement."