Mobile articulated arm: maintenance and inspection
On a mobile articulated arm one quantity is added to the familiar wear pattern that a stationary unit does not have: stability. It depends on ballast, locks and the floor the unit happens to stand on – and changes every day, because the unit stands somewhere else every day.
- Rule
- DGUV rule 54 (winches, hoisting and traction equipment)
- Interval
- at least annually
- Makes
- any make
A unit without a foundation stands on four castors.
Which rule applies – and at what interval
A mobile unit is hoisting and traction equipment under DGUV rule 54 too, with inspection by a competent person at least once a year. The difference lies in the risk assessment: for a stationary unit the location is fixed and assessed once. For a mobile unit the question of which floors and which areas it may be used on belongs in the assessment – and whether the operators know it.
- Rule
- DGUV rule 54 (winches, hoisting and traction equipment)
- Minimum interval
- at least annually
- Inspector
- competent person
What we look at on this unit
| Component | Finding | Discard limit |
|---|---|---|
| Chassis & castors | Abrasion, flats, bearing play, worn running surfaces | castors with flats or noticeable play |
| Locks | Holding force, wear on the pad, operability | unit can still be pushed when locked |
| Ballast & base plate | Completeness, fixing, deformation | missing or loose ballast |
| Joint pins & bushes | Play, worn bore | noticeable play at the load attachment |
| Lift cylinder | Creep under load, scoring on the rod | any creep under load |
| Line routing | Chafing, being run over by the unit’s own castors | any chafing down to the reinforcement |
The limits come from the applicable rules. Where manufacturer data exists for the specific unit, it prevails.
What actually gets done
Stability in the worst position
We do not test in the tidy condition but where it matters: arm fully extended, load on the hook, locks applied. Only that position shows whether stability holds. We test it on the floor the unit actually works on – a gradient of a few per cent changes the picture noticeably.
Count the ballast
Missing ballast is a common finding and arises harmlessly: during a move a plate stays behind and nobody misses it. We count and weigh instead of assuming everything is still there.
Locks under load
A lock that holds the empty unit need not hold the loaded one. Testing is done with load and extended arm – the condition in which a unit rolling away becomes dangerous.
Castors and lines
Castors with flats make the unit hard to move and invite dragging it. We additionally check whether the lines can get under the unit’s own castors while travelling – damage that only occurs on mobile equipment.
When the task has changed
Make it stationary
Once the workstation has settled, converting to a fixed column is almost always a gain: more capacity, more reach, and stability stops being a daily question.
Adjust the ballast
If the load or the reach changes, the required ballast changes. That is a calculation, not an estimate – and the cheapest modification there is.
Different load attachment
New gripper or quick-change system: the unit stays, the task changes. Note that a heavier gripper also changes stability.
What we offer for it
Lifting Equipment Maintenance
Planned maintenance of chain hoists, wire rope hoists, balancers and manipulators – any make.
Lifting Equipment Inspection
Recurring inspection under German BetrSichV and DGUV rules – chain hoists, rope hoists, balancers, manipulators and jib cranes.
Repair & Overhaul
Repair of lifting equipment and manipulators of any make – from a brake change to a full overhaul.
Upgrades & Modification
Adapting existing lifting equipment to a new task – gripper, control, reach, capacity.
Questions on maintenance and inspection
Does a mobile unit really need the same inspection as a fixed one?
Yes, same rule and same interval. Added to it is stability, which on a fixed unit sits in the foundation and on a mobile one is recreated every day. It is the most important point of the inspection – and the only one the operator influences daily.
Which floors may the unit stand on?
That belongs in the risk assessment and should be readable on the unit: permissible gradient, surface, restricted areas. Where the information is missing it is the first finding we record – more often than any mechanical defect.
The unit is hard to move. Is that a defect?
Yes, and a safety-relevant one. A stiff unit gets dragged rather than pushed, and that produces exactly the lateral forces it is not calculated for. The cause is usually castors with flats or dry bearings.
Let’s talk about your equipment.
Tell us which units you have – including ones from different manufacturers. We will come back with a proposal for scope and interval.