Brigade Electronics discusses boosting safety in the heavy equipment rental industry
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Renting heavy machinery is becoming ever more popular in the construction and mining industries with many companies now opting to rent rather than purchase equipment. Actually, market analysts predict that the heavy equipment rental industry is defined to grow by 11% over the next 3 years as construction companies look for ways to improve efficiency.
However, while heavy equipment rental providers have a duty to make sure that machinery is properly maintained and fit for purpose, they also needs to make certain that equipment can meet their customer's safety needs both on and off-site.
Corey Heniser, works for Brigade Electronics INC - a market-leading provider of safety devices and solutions for commercial vehicles and machinery. He said:
"Construction is probably the most dangerous industries on earth so site safety is completely critical to protecting against deaths and injuries. This consists of alleviating any risks that may be due to machinery and vehicles."
Some of the most frequent causes of injuries on site include:
- being struck by a moving vehicle
- ground personnel getting trapped between a machine and fixed structure
- pedestrians being struck by moving parts, such as excavator buckets
Corey, continues:
"Commercial vehicle safety systems, such as for example 360-degree cameras, warning alarms, and radar obstacle detection, are ways to improve safety and control the risks associated with operating heavy machinery in difficult conditions."
Recommended commercial vehicle safety systems for heavy equipment rental machinery
Corey Heniser, from Brigade INC, has provided a guide for heavy equipment rental providers, recommending essential safety devices for the most frequent types of plant rental machinery, including excavators, loaders, dozers, and dump trucks.
Camera Monitor Systems
All vehicles have blind spots - areas around the vehicle that are obscured by bodywork, load, or attachments. When maneuvering, these blind spots present a substantial danger to anything or anyone in the vehicle's path and inhibit the driver's capability to operate the automobile safely.
While mirrors and single-view cameras help address blind spots, they do not get rid of them completely. Research demonstrates in the time it requires to scan four mirrors/monitor, asses and then react to hazards, even at speeds only 3mph, a vehicle can travel as far as 33 feet. However, 360-degree camera monitor systems, such as for example Brigade's best-selling Backeye®360, can fix this problem.
The four-camera technology is made to eliminate vehicle blind spots and assist safe maneuvering in challenging scenarios by giving the driver with a complete 360-degree view of their vehicle in one image. The machine combines images from four ultra-wide-angle cameras, providing a real-time view on the operator's monitor. The effect is a 'bird's-eye-view' of the vehicle and surrounding area.
Brigade's latest addition to the Backeye®360 family may be the BN360-300, which gives drivers a clear and crisp image because of its new high definition specification. This helps it be ideal for industries, such as for example construction and quarrying, where safety is an enormous concern.
Back up and warning alarms
Rear blind spots are a huge problem, with back up incidents accounting for a quarter of deaths in the workplace. Back up alarms offer an audible warning for anybody in a vehicle or machine's path when it's backing.
While 'beep beep' back up alarms remain widely used around the world, multi-frequency alarms using broadband technology, such as Brigade's bbs-tek®, are believed to be much safer because of their locatable 'ssh-ssh' sound that not merely eliminates noise complaints but more importantly is far quicker for pedestrians and ground personnel to pinpoint, particularly if wearing hearing protection or when employed in difficult and noisy conditions.
Radar Obstacle Detection
Industries such as for example mining, quarrying, and construction regularly operate in harsh terrains and difficult conditions, such as fog, dust, and darkness, which further decreases visibility for drivers of plant machinery. Radar obstacle detection can discover stationary and moving objects, even in the toughest conditions, providing operators with in-cab visual and audible warnings and immediately alerting them to potential hazards.
Brigade's Backsense® Radar uses Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) technology, which transmits a continually varying radar frequency signal with original time stamps to each instance of the wave. That is critical, especially in busy work sites, to alert the operator of a nearby person or obstacle.
Mobile Digital Recorders
Mobile digital recorders are playing an important role to improve safety and security. They offer irrefutable evidence in the event of an incident or false insurance claims and help protect drivers from false accusations and improve operator performance.
Incidents involving vehicles can be hugely frustrating and costly to resolve. Too little solid evidence can often mean companies accept liability or operators are unfairly blamed, resulting in increased costs for businesses and stress for operators. Vehicle-mounted cameras capture footage, providing a precise account of events and important proof in case of a dispute.
Source: https://www.prnewswire.com