Whether it’s a team of one or a workforce of a thousand, every one of your technicians deserves to work in a safe and protective environment.
And a huge part of fulfilling that duty comes from the workshop equipment and tools you invest in.
So if your teams are handling heavy components and systems, you need to be sure you’ve got the tools in place to help them do it safely and efficiently.
Here’s why every workshop needs its own dedicated manual handling tools:
They Give Your Workers Full Control
When you’re handling heavy equipment, you need some serious forces to get the job done. And that’s before you start to think about the condition of the equipment you’re servicing:
Bolts can become stuck, and wheel discs can become rusty — and the sheer forces involved in disassembling these components can lead your workers into using risky methods.
They’re using handheld hammers to punch bolts loose, or radial saws to cut through wheel discs. And while these conventional methods can apply the forces you need, those forces aren’t always accurate and precise.
But with a dedicated Manual Handling Tool that’s specifically designed for the job at hand, your technicians can apply the exact forces they need — at the right place, and in the right direction.
And the result?
You’re keeping your workers in complete control of the forces they apply — for a less exhausting and less risky approach to disassembly.
They Do All the Heavy Lifting
If you’re working on a brake system for a commercial vehicle, you’re dealing with a heavy piece of gear.
It’s not the kind of thing your workers should be lifting — for both their own safety, and the efficiency of the work they’re doing.
Our Totalkare Brake Trucks are designed to do all the heavy lifting: completely supporting the weight of the components to help your workers keep their hands free (and their backs in good shape) throughout the entire disassembly and assembly process.
But it’s not just about safety and fatigue:
With a Brake Truck taking the weight of the brake system, you can carry out a service using a single technician working alone — which is a massive boost to the throughput of your workshop.
They Eliminate Risky Behaviour
Conventional methods of disassembly usually take a primitive approach: the application of heat, or the driving of hammers.
These basic methods work — but they come with their own safety risks. And they’re often the kind of risks that can be difficult to manage or minimise.
A hammer that slips can cause all kinds of injuries, and a red-hot component is rarely something you want to keep close to your workers.
But with a sophisticated machine that’s built for a single task (like our Totalkare Hub Extractor), your teams can completely remove the need for any risky approaches.
There’s no need to swing hammers or apply heat to loosen a stuck component — just the precise and controlled application of a well-directed force, delivered and contained safely by a purpose-built piece of machinery.
They Handle the Dangerous Materials
Some risks in the workshop have nothing to do with weight and forces. Instead, they’re about the substances themselves: dangerous materials or corrosive chemicals, and the potential for harm they can cause to your workers.
That’s why we build our manual handling tools to contain and control those substances — like our new Totalkare Battery Extractor, which protects your teams from the hazards of dropping a battery filled with chemicals.
With a height-adjustable arm and a sliding hook for correct positioning, you can safely and quickly lift a commercial vehicle battery from its housing, and place it securely where it needs to go — without the risk of dropping or spilling the battery or its contents.
Looking for More Tools to Keep Your Teams Safe?
No matter how large or small your workshop, the safety of your technicians should always be your top priority.
And without the right tools and equipment in place, you’re leaving the risk of injury up to chance or human error — with the potential for serious consequences further down the line.
So if you’re looking for the safest and most reliable equipment around, we’ve got the workshop gear you need. Check out our full range of Manual Handling Tools in our online shop — or talk to a heavy-duty vehicle expert to find exactly what you need.
This article was originally published by Totalkare.
