Posted By FAH Hi Willie - interesting post! I have my thoughts on this one - but I'm waiting for the Principal Contractors, Plant Engineers & Groundwork Engineers to get into the act; we don't get that many of them sticking their heads above the parapet. CDM, PUWER & LOLER [if in the UK, or EU equivalents] are obviously the principal source of information on this. Frank Hallett

Posted By CB Good discussion. With this you can take many directions but I will go down a couple of ways. It is ordinary practice to move around with the aid of the dipper arm and it is placed in numerous kinds of ground conditions. This can place the hitch on the ground and in mud, stone etc and cause pressure to the rams when attachments are on. This brings me on to the examining of the hitch as an attachment of the excavator. Most hitches are attached after the machine is manufactured so therefore, under HSE guidance places it under a separate 6 monthly test regime. If the hitch is permanently attached (when it is manufactured) should it not fall in to a 6 monthly due to the conditions the hitch is used in? Secondly if the hitch is fully automatic and it has been placed mud etc it can stick around where the bucket/attachments will sit. The rams can appear to attach the bucket and will be fully deployed but will not be fully holding the bucket and could lead to the bucket coming off. The bucket, if used with a semi automatic with pin in, would never come off in this scenario. What do the HSE do? Ban the manufacture of semi automatics! unbeliveable!