From December 2019, during the inspection, the inspector of the Office of Technical Inspection will ask you to provide MHE service life. If you do not provide such a document, proper device diagnostics will not be carried out at all and the vehicle will be excluded from service. Don’t put your business at risk! Contact us to receive a relevant certificate quickly.
MHE SERVICE LIFE SPECIALIST
WOJCIECH BORKOWSKI
Service life is a term referring to the determination of the boundary parameters used to identify and assess the technical condition of Material Handling Equipment (MHE) determined by the number of work cycles and load. Service life in accordance with the Regulation of the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Technology on the technical conditions of technical supervision in the field of operation, repair and modernization of Material Handling Equipment, introduces the need to restore the history of MHE operation. This is necessary to assess the technical condition.
In practice, service is carried out to determine the safe lifetime of MHE equipment, regardless of knowledge or ignorance of their operating history. The safe period of operation for MHE is determined by the number of work cycles, and for mechanisms by the number of hours of work under nominal load. Therefore, all Material Handling Equipment that are supervised by the Office of Technical Inspection should undergo a service life assessment.
The unknown history of used MHE raises their owners’ justified fear and uncertainty about the legality of their further use. The need to calculate the service life seems to be inevitable, and the associated costs and problems are still shrouded in mystery. Or are they, really?
We are a company with many years of experience in technical service, maintenance, modernization and repair of MHE. We have the necessary knowledge, skills and authorizations of OTI, enabling us to make a professional service life calculation for each crane and other devices subject to the Office of Technical Inspection (OTI). If in your company you have Material Handling Equipment, it is worth entrusting us with the calculation of the service life.
In situations where it is not possible to retrieve the history of MHE operation, the calculation of the service life seems unrealistic. But not for us! In such cases, we calculate service life, using all available technical information on the devices used. These are rating plates, documentation from inspections and technical tests, repair reports, as well as the manufacturer’s technical documentation and applicable standards for selected types of machines. In addition, selected crane models are factory-fitted with load spectrum recorders. Their results are also very helpful when calculating service life.
The Office of Technical Inspection precisely determines which machines are considered as MHE. This group includes:
The calculation of the service life affects the further course of the proceedings. If it turns out that it has not been exceeded, the device is approved for further operation. Exceeding the service life means that a special inspection of the device must be carried out. If it is successful, the service life limit will be set and we will be able to use the device without any worries. However, if the special inspection reveals irregularities, a complete renovation will have to be carried out. After its completion, a new service life date will be set and the device will be authorized for further use.
Special inspection of the MHE, as the name suggests, is a detailed overview of the Material Handling Equipment for which service life has been achieved. The function of the special inspection is to confirm the technical condition of the device and possibly making repairs or renovations. A special inspection is necessary to continue operating the device safely.
Many times we are asked about the scope of the special inspection. The answer is very simple. Its scope is detailed in the manual of the device for which the service life was calculated. However, what if the device has not retained its complete user manual? In such cases, applicable standards, engineering and technical knowledge, analogous technical specifications and experience of technical service shall apply. The above interpretation is also confirmed by the Office of Technical Inspection.
The most important elements this special inspection covers, include: supporting structure of the device, drive, electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic installations as well as safety systems. Our company carries out comprehensive special MHE inspections, having the appropriate qualifications and authorizations of the Office of Technical Inspection. We carry out special inspections of cranes and majority of Material Handling Equipment (MHE).
Everyone special inspection carried out by us is finalized by making a report. We include the most important information about the entire process, including personal data, qualifications and authorizations of the persons performing the review, applied standards and assessment criteria, results of the inspection and recommendations regarding the complete renovation and its scope.
If the special inspection recommends a complete renovation of the device, the owner can proceed with its implementation. In the event that the cost of a complete renovation is disproportionately high in relation to the value of the device, the owner may decide to scrape it. This applies most often when the entire load-bearing structure made of steel requires a complete renovation. The high costs of such renovation are then economically unjustified (complicated repair, difficulty in obtaining spare parts, high level of danger associated with dismantling elements, etc.).
If the complete renovation is carried out in accordance with the protocol recommendations, the MHE gains a new service life, i.e. a safe lifetime. Its beginning is calculated from the date of commencement of use after complete renovation.
If you want to quickly calculate the MHE service life, please contact us. We will provide the necessary information regarding the efficient performance of all activities related to the service life. Lubritech has all the required OTI permissions to calculate the service life and carry out special inspections. And what does the procedure of calculating the service life in our company look like?
When we receive the completed file, we will start calculating the service life, we will complete the necessary documentation. You will receive an electronic scan of the documents (bearing an appropriate signature and stamp) and an invoice. From this moment you have the appropriate certificate, which you can show to the OTI inspector in case of an inspection.
Wojciech Borkowski
MHE service life specialist
