Quick coupler
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Quick couplers (also called quick hitches) are used with construction machines to allow the rapid change of working tools or buckets and attachments on the machine. They remove the need to use hammers to manually drive out and insert the mounting pins for attachments. They also bring with them additional safety risks that must be overcome by careful design and manufacture, and proper use.
Quick couplers (also called quick hitches) are used with construction machines to allow the rapid change of working tools or buckets and attachments on the machine. They remove the need to use hammers to manually drive out and insert the mounting pins for attachments. They also bring with them additional safety risks that must be overcome by careful design and manufacture, and proper use. A European standard in place since 1996 gives some guidance on the safety of quick couplers (EN474-1). However, this standard is unclear in many aspects leading to uncertainty as to whether semi-automatic couplers comply with it or not. Because of this the UK government launched a "safeguard action" under the Machinery Safety Directive (98/37/EC) challenging the validity of the standard and demanding that it be improved. The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) have therefore undertaken to revise the relevant section of the standard. Because of the divergence in design concepts and in opinions on how to manage the associated risks the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has undertaken to draft an International Standard on the safety of quick couplers. This project is being undertaken by Technical Committee 127 (ISO TC/127). A Working Group was set up to draft the standard, which will be reviewed internationally through normal ISO procedures and will be published as ISO 13031 . This work will probably be completed in 2013. The intention in Europe is that, subject to the standard being suitable, the ISO standard would then be adopted as the standard for Europe. ==References==
Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1370307719 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.