Utility Fleet Managers Seek Safety, Productivity in DICA Outrigger Pad Products
At the recent Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference (EUFMC), “Fleet managers were looking for new equipment that would help them improve safety and operational efficiencies, said Kerry Koberg, Strategic Accounts Manager. DICA has been invited to participate in EUFMC since 2014. This exclusive event is dedicated to serving the specific needs of utility fleet managers. More than 120 fleet representatives attended the 2017 event June 4-7 in Williamsburg, Va.
“As we are building a smarter energy future for our customers, it’s important to have a safe, productive and efficient fleet,” said Keynote Speaker Lloyd Yates, Executive Vice President of Customer and Delivery Operations at Duke Energy. “We look to our fleet to support that effort and we have a responsibility to be innovative in the way we invest in people, and in reliable vehicles and equipment.”
DICA displayed several new products that provide specific safety and productivity benefits for the utility industry.
ProStack™ Cribbing, with its interlocking design, safely provides additional height under outrigger floats when setting up in uneven ground conditions. ProStack Cribbing has three basic parts; a base outrigger pad, interlocking cribbing blocks and a high friction top grip pad. The base ProStack Outrigger Pad is manufactured with a pyramid-shaped surface that interlocks with the cribbing blocks. On top of the base pad, operators stack layers of (2) 6”x12”x24” cribbing blocks with the pyramid-shape surface, that lock into the base pad. Lastly, a ProStack Grip Pad is placed on top of the stack to protect the pyramid surface on the cribbing blocks and provide a high friction surface for the outrigger foot.
ProStack is convenient, increases productivity, and provides a safer setup by employing an engineered solution that interlocks while being strong, ergonomic, and impervious to degradation by environmental conditions.
“ProStack is designed to provide height for operators in environments where there are significant changes in grade. It is designed to be used under boom trucks, digger derricks, and aerial bucket trucks, or any equipment with outrigger loads that do not exceed 100,000 pounds,” says Kris Koberg, CEO.
A favorite among utility crews, DICA also exhibited its Hi-Viz SafetyTech® Outrigger Pads. The high visibility color of yellow and orange provide a visual reminder to think and act safely when setting up equipment on outrigger pads.
Made from DICA’s premium engineered thermoplastic material, yellow and orange D1818 and D2424 outrigger pads are designed for stabilizer enabled equipment, which are common in electric utility applications. The high visibility outrigger pads are available in 18x18x1 inch (D1818) and 24x24x1 inch (D2424) sizes.