ALLMI Proximity to Slopes tool: stability planning notes for crane engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Proximity to Slopes, a new calculator in the Association of Lorry Loader Manufacturers & Importers (ALLMI) app, now quantifies safe stabiliser leg positions for loader cranes working beside embankments. Users input mat width, horizontal distance from the crane base to the crest, and slope height; the tool then defines a “danger area” where stabilisers must not be placed to avoid loss of stability. For temporary works and lift planners, this offers a quick, standardised check when siting cranes on or near cuttings, bunds and roadside batters.
Technical Brief
- Tool output is explicitly framed as guidance for stabiliser leg siting, not full geotechnical design.
- Input parameters are limited to mat width, horizontal offset to crest and slope height, simplifying field use.
- Calculator logic assumes use of spreader mats, explicitly incorporating mat width into the danger-zone geometry.
- By standardising a simple geometric check, the tool supports more consistent compliance with generic lifting-plan requirements.
- For complex stratigraphy, high slopes or waterlogged batters, separate geotechnical assessment remains essential despite app guidance.
Our Take
Within the 11 Software stories in our database, very few are UK-focused and safety-tagged, so ALLMI’s loader crane proximity tool stands out as one of the more formalised, industry-body-led digital safety initiatives rather than a single-vendor product push.
Because ALLMI is a trade association rather than an equipment OEM, this kind of software emerging from the United Kingdom is likely to influence multiple loader crane brands and contractors on projects, making it easier for principal contractors to specify a common approach to slope-related exclusion zones.
Among the 797 tag-matched Product/Safety/Projects pieces, most safety tools relate to mobile plant or underground mining; a loader crane-specific proximity solution suggests that UK regulators and clients are now scrutinising lifting operations on construction projects with similar intensity to earthmoving activities.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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