There is a vast amount of special machinery on construction sites, going way beyond the usual excavators and wheel loaders. Machine manufacturers are constantly coming up with smart solutions that greatly simplify physically demanding tasks, especially when it comes to improving ergonomics for workers on construction sites. One manufacturer of just this kind of special machine is Probst GmbH of Erdmannhausen, close to Stuttgart. Following the motto “making hard work easier”, the company develops tools and machines for road and building construction and civil engineering—but also for gardening, landscaping and work in concrete plants. The goal is always the same: making it more ergonomic and efficient to work with building materials.

Transmobil’s TM-150-D-A Installation Carrier, a self-propelled crawler unit with a mast telescopic boom and a vacuum lifting unit, is one of these machines. It is used wherever building materials have to be moved efficiently and carefully on-site. That’s obviously important for road construction, but it also comes into play in areas like gardening and landscaping. For anyone who can’t quite imagine what this means, the video shows how the Installation Carrier helps with setting curbstones into newly constructed roads.

Beyond increased productivity, the main focus for operators is the advantages it brings for construction site teams. With its vacuum lifting unit, the Transmobil TM-150-D-A can easily transport and precisely place even the heaviest concrete parts. In this way, building materials weighing up to 250kg can be put in place without strenuous physical effort. This can prevent many issues, such as back problems and the serious accidents that can occur during the transport and handling of heavy objects.

One thing that’s clear is how all aspects of occupational health and safety were taken into account in the design of the machine. That includes noise exposure for the machine operator and other people in the vicinity of the crawler vehicle. Engines are particularly problematic when it comes to noise pollution. “We were looking for particularly quiet engine operation and quickly decided on a Hatz 1D single-cylinder engine with the Silent Pack,” explained Dr. Richard Gärtner, head of development at Probst. “These specially encapsulated units are incredibly quiet while still delivering enough power for the demanding use they see in our tracked vehicles.”

The Silent Pack is installed as standard in the tracked vehicle. The TM-150-D-A-Silent version is available in on-demand form with additional sound insulation that reduces operating noise to below 80 dB, which roughly corresponds to the average volume of a typical lawn mower.

The 9.6kW Hatz single-cylinder has to drive a total of three hydraulic pumps in the Transmobil TM-150-D-A. These provide the pressure required for the machine’s various lifting and transporting functions, such as driving of the crawler tracks at a maximum speed of 2.2km/h, mast adjustment, and driving the vacuum lifting unit. “But we don’t rely just on technical data when choosing our engine partner,” explains Dr. Richard Gärtner. “Hatz is known for honest, straightforward communication and excellent support in the development phase. For us, that’s always been a big plus in the Hatz column.”

Performance, low noise and support—it’s these three factors that Probst GmbH bases its decisions on. And that goes for the construction-site teams working with the Transmobil-TM-150-D-A as well. They safeguard their health and are able to work efficiently and productively. That’s what “making hard work easier” really means.