ETOL: ESTA builds an SPMT operator qualification on the ECOL model
ESTA is developing a European Transport Operators Licence for self-propelled modular transporters, using the structures already created for the European Crane Operators Licence, and Fagioli has confirmed its support for the work.
One qualification instead of twenty-seven
Rules covering heavy transport and lifting still differ markedly from one European country to the next, which leaves contractors moving crews across borders with a patchwork of national qualifications. ESTA — the European association for the abnormal road transport and mobile crane rental industry — has spent recent years bringing national associations and private companies together to work towards a single, workable framework in step with the European institutions.
Building on ECOL
The association reports what it calls exceptionally strong support from its members and from the wider heavy transport market for its work on improving SPMT safety and establishing an internationally accepted training qualification for operators. The vehicle for that is ETOL, the European Transport Operators Licence, which is being developed using the structures already put in place for ECOL, the European Crane Operators Licence.
Reusing the ECOL framework matters practically: the training standard, examination arrangements and mutual recognition mechanisms already exist and have been tested on mobile crane operators, so the SPMT scheme does not have to be built from nothing.
The gap ETOL is intended to close is a real one for contractors. SPMT crews are among the most mobile in the industry, moving between load-outs, bridge installations and plant relocations across several countries in a single year, yet an operator qualified in one member state has had no automatic standing in the next. Clients and insurers have filled the vacuum with in-house schemes, which multiplies training cost without producing a portable credential.
Guidance already published
Alongside the licence work, ESTA has issued two documents that Fagioli highlights as relevant reading for anyone running modular equipment: the ESTA Guideline for the use of Modular Hydraulically Suspended Trailers — Transport stability, and the Best practice guide for Self-Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMT).
Transport stability is the technical heart of the matter. Hydraulically suspended modular trailers carry their load on grouped hydraulic circuits, and the stability of the combination depends on how those groups are configured, on the centre of gravity of the cargo and on the ground it is travelling over — parameters an operator has to understand rather than simply follow.
Fagioli, which operates SPMT fleets on projects worldwide, is an ESTA supporter and says it is following the work in progress on the operator licence.
Source: Fagioli — Photos: Fagioli