Fleet managers who have injured or disabled equipment operators restricted to light duties now have an option to help them return to job sites.
Euie Harrison, the owner of Queensland contractor Kilcoy Landscaping Supplies, has been able to return to the job site in a JCB tracked loader three years after a serious motorcycle accident.
Harrison uses a wheelchair since the accident and, until now, could no longer operate the equipment. Instead, he concentrated on the administration and management of his business.
However, the desire to work on site did not fade. Following a recommendation from an adviser from Employment Options, he ordered a JCB 150T tracked skid-steer loader, which had several features that would allow him to operate it.
The loader, which was launched in Australia in August, is the only skid-steer unit that features side-door entry to the cab. This is made possible by the use of a single-arm power boom. Other loaders have cab access on the front, over or under attachments. Furthermore, most of the controls are hand operated, so Harrison says it was ideal for him.
“I had a go at the wheeled machine first but it was a bit hard for me to get into it over the wheel arches,” he says. “The tracked machine is great, though. With the side entry, I can park my wheelchair next to it and transfer across to the seat.
“I’m loving being back in the cab!”
Harrison had his first run in the loader to tidy up his own three-acre property. He did his first paid job in the new machine a week later, spending two days on a back-filling task.
“It was pretty easy to use and my other operators are keen to get in it!” he says. “We were initially planning to trade one of our other skid steers for this one but we ended up adding it to the fleet because I thought it would be handy to have the extra machine – and also because I didn’t want to share it.
“It’s a good mid-range machine, and not too tall. Fuel usage is about the same as my other machines but the productivity is higher. It pushes more, levels better and is definitely better in wet areas, with a bit more traction than a tractor.”