Safe Drilling Solutions

Skelair International Ltd are Marini srl sole dealer for all genuine Marini Range of drilling plant and equipment in the UK and Ireland and are able to supply after sale support via in-house Marini trained engineering expertise. We work closely with our customers throughout the design, purchase and after sales stage ensuring customers have absolutely the right product for their needs and project application, with proven long term financial benefit to the customer.

Marini have been a leading designer and manufacturer of drilling plant and equipment for our 50 years; their drilling masts and safety cages are custom made, bespoke designs to accept and host the Marini range of top hammers and rotary heads and meet the requisite safety standards for use in the UK and Ireland: HSE guidance and PUWER 1998 (as amended) and as defined in the Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC).

All Marini drill heads and masts are built concurrently at the Marini factory in Italy and are designed to work specifically with the Marini Manual Operator or Remote-Control Systems.

The Marini Control Units manufactured with the Marini Drilling Mast range are appropriate, applicable and fully compatible across the full Marini product range and incorporate accurate and safe control over:

• Down feed of the drill on the mast,
• Rotation direction and speed,
• Percussion action and frequency; of the drilling head in use.

The controls for the hydraulics and air flows used are proportional to the use of the drill itself and therefore minimise wear of internal components of the drill head and prolong the overall life of the unit.

Marini drilling masts and safety cages are designed and manufactured to meet specific and strict safety standards in the UK and Ireland, incorporating safety systems which include automatic “cut off” should the safety cage be opened whilst the machine is in operation.

When the guard is open, Marini equipment and Marini Control panels operate in strict accord with the following safety criteria:

• Can operate at a speed as low as practicable and no more than 30 revolutions per minute (rpm), and
• Have a jog control (ROM mode (Reduced Operation Mode)) which gives no more than half rotation per control operation, and
• Feed speed is restricted to 15 metres per minute or 10 centimetres per activation, and
• An indicator which is automatically activated to warn the operator that the drilling rig is in ROM, and
• All controls are ‘hold to run’ during ROM and on releasing the rotation control, motion stops within half of a revolution, and
• Full rotational speed is only available on restart with the guard shut, and
• Rotating or moving parts within reach distance are restricted speed/motion during ROM.
• Turning on the “special mode” which can be done by switching a key, the unit operates at 100% of the power with the cage open, but only with “hold to run” controls, and
• ‘Hold to run’ controls requiring the operator to hold the control at all times to operate the machine. Releasing the control for whatever reason will stop the machine from operating and within half of a revolution.

All guarding at all times fails to safe.