Engcon delivers for Readypower.
As one of the UK’s foremost providers of bespoke plant, road rail vehicle (RRV) and civil engineering solutions for the country’s rail sector, Readypower employees understandably spend a lot of time trackside. From renewals of overhead lines to crucial on-track maintenance, the team are used to operating heavy machinery, such as excavators, in safety-critical environments.
With space at a premium for trackside workers, Cameron Barr, head of operations in Scotland for Readypower, was keen to identify ways in which excavators could deliver even greater flexibility and manoeuvrability. The solution he found was tiltrotators. Cameron explains: “The on-track team are essential to keeping the UK rail network safe and on-time, but the work they carry out is both incredibly technical and labour-intensive. There’s very little space to work trackside, and even smaller margin for error, so I wanted to maximise the flexibility of our existing fleet of excavators.
“Engcon’s EC219 tiltrotator seemed to be the obvious choice. I was already familiar with the brand as I’d been using the manufacturer’s hitch successfully for years at a previous company, so when I was looking at increasing the productivity of our machines at Readypower at our Scotland depot, Engcon’s tiltrorators were the obvious choice. Delivering unbeatable rotational flexibility and a +45° tilt, the EC219 is the perfect bit of kit for our operators working trackside.”
The EC219 has been manufactured to comply with stringent European safety standards, with operators able to choose between a number of different control systems based on the machine’s unique characteristics. What’s more, the EC219 can be equipped with the company’s Micropop proportional control, offering operators stepless control and maximum precision – crucial assets when working in environments as challenging as railway sidings.
Cameron adds: “The purchase of the EC219 tiltrotators came at the perfect time, with our rail sector customer-base increasingly wanting to see work completed faster, but to the same high standards they’ve come to expect. We took delivery of the first four units in January, and, thanks to the hugely positive impact they’ve had on our productivity and ability to streamline operations, have placed an order for a further two to be delivered later this year. The Engcon hitches in particular have proved invaluable for us in obtaining work from our clients, not only because the hitches increase on-site productivity and efficiencies, but they are also much safer, meaning operators don’t have to get out of the cab to change attachments.
“The scope of our work is incredibly diverse and takes in the entire Scottish rail network, covering everything from embankment grading work, drilling, rock cutting and signal erecting with manipulators. All of these jobs require the precision movements that the Engcon provides, so we’ve seen first-hand what an effect tiltrotators have had on our fleet, and are looking forward to seeing how we can push this further with the addition of an additional two EC219’s.”
