Replacement and repair of glazing on agricultural and construction machinery
Glassdrive comes to your farm or worksite to repair the glazing damage on your professional vehicles. Our teams have the means to intervene quickly thanks to a thorough assessment carried out beforehand with the client who suffered the damage. Depending on the results of this assessment, Glassdrive uses the appropriate technical equipment to secure the removal of the used equipment and the installation of the new part.
Why can the glazing of your machine break?
Like other vehicles, agricultural machinery and construction equipment are subject to the risk of being hit by projectiles from their surroundings. But they are also often required to manoeuvre in confined spaces, near other machinery or loads of heavy, long or protruding materials, exposing their glazing to impact. These incidents, which are specifically related to the environment in which construction and agricultural workers operate, are not, however, the only cause of reported glazing damage in this category of vehicle.
Doors that have been violently opened by a strong gust of wind against the frame of the driver's cab, or a faulty manoeuvre, which may cause the moving parts of a loader (e.g. a shovel or bucket) to hit the glass of another piece of construction equipment located nearby, may cause chips or cracks on the windshield, or even the breaking of a sidelite.
Also at issue: the brutality of certain types of weather (hailstorms), a recurring threat to machines that are often parked outdoors, and the risk of acts of vandalism or break-ins, which should not be overlooked on construction sites, which have become unfortunately quite common over the past few years.
Glassdrive, which has built its reputation on the flexibility and permanent adaptability of its teams, is able to intervene on all brands and types of vehicles with one or more glazing pieces.
A technical expertise to determine the nature of your needs.
Agricultural and forestry activities, as well as construction, public works and civil engineering, each use their own specific equipment. Some machines are common to all these sectors, such as loaders with an excavator driven by two mechanical arms fixed on either side of a tractor cab mounted on tyres or tracks.
When they are called to construction sites, Glassdrive technicians have the expertise and equipment required to repair or replace a windshield or sidelite on machines with a wide range of profiles, tonnages and functions: hydraulic shovels, self-propelled graders, backhoes, crane cabs, compactors or material transport trucks (dumpers, dumpers)…
In town, Glassdrive responds to requests from local authorities who wish to refurbish the custom-made glazing of their motorised sweepers.
Our teams travel to rural areas to repair combine harvesters, mini-excavators, forage harvesters, telescopic handlers and all types of tractors equipped with a mobile part dedicated to a particular task (a mower, for example).
Glassdrive has the human and material resources to respond to the particularities of each vehicle: their technique and design are carefully studied beforehand to determine the nature of the operation to be carried out and the type of equipment to be mobilised in order to carry out a windshield or sidelite replacement in complyance with the rules.
Tailor-made parts and service.
The glazing parts of an agricultural machine or a construction machine correspond to manufacturer's data which require an ultra-customised offer: Glassdrive organises with its suppliers to receive and fit a product of same quality and performance as the original part as quickly as possible. If necessary, our teams place an order for custom-made equipment using laminated glass (for the windshield) or tempered glass (for the sidelite). We also replace the polycarbonate parts used to secure certain openings or to cover the front and rear lights.
Unlike traditional passenger car windshields, which are glued to the body frame, agricultural vehicles and construction trucks sometimes require other types of installation:
Some models have the glazing directly screwed to the frame.
Others are sealed: the operation then consists in embedding the windshield or the glazinng (always with round angles) in a rubber gasket, and in placing the whole assembly by means of a string which makes it possible to finalise, by leverage, the installation of the seal on both sides of the window.
Finally, when they are swinging, the sidelite are mounted on hinges.
How does Glassdrive work on your machine?
Glassdrive's fitters assess the conditions under which the work is to be carried out directly with the customer: the size and height of the vehicle, but also the site where it is immobilised, are important parameters which will lead to the use or not of additional installation equipment:
A scaffold if the glass to be changed is located above a certain height.
A harness with a lanyard to secure the manoeuvre of our technicians when they are operating several metres above the ground.
Some of the Glassdrive workshops use highly technical equipment, such as platforms carried by a motorised arm, robotic solutions for the removal and fitting of tilted windshields, or machines to assist in cutting.
In its concern to provide a quality service, Glassdrive endeavours to return the repaired vehicle as the owner left it: the replacement of a windshield or a sidelite is accompanied by the reinstallation, to the last detail and millimetre, of all the equipment, accessories and utility or decorative objects previously installed in the passenger compartment (storage hooks, speakers, personalised plates).
Ice damage to your business vehicles: should it be repaired or replaced?
Even a small impact on a tempered glazing* (which breaks into small, non-sharp pieces), the material of which the majority of sidelites* are made, cannot be repaired: the glazing must therefore be completely replaced. However, a laminated windshield can be sealed with a thermosetting resin under certain conditions**.
*subject to availability of parts in our suppliers' stocks
**the number, size and position of the impacts on the glazing are decisive criteria
FOR FRANCE :
In France, the law requiring drivers to drive a car that guarantees them, for their own safety, a "sufficient field of visibility to the front, to the right and to the left" does not apply to agricultural vehicles and equipment "whose speed does not exceed 40 km/h".