The Benefits of Vehicle Safety Systems for Jobsites
According to the World Health Organization, construction, agriculture and mining are among some of the highest-risk work populations in the world, with many injuries and fatalities caused by moving vehicles or machinery.
Maneuvering vehicles at low speeds is one of the most common causes of deaths and injuries to ground workers, who are often operating on noisy sites in difficult conditions with reduced visibility.
Blind spots on vehicles are a common cause of collisions and tend to be much more extensive on large jobsite vehicles. These include not only the rear and nearside but also the front, especially with elevated driver positions. Harsh terrains, thick dust, smoke and fog decrease visibility even further.
Clearly, putting sensible precautions in place is an important factor when dealing with safety issues on and off the road. The introduction of commercial vehicle safety systems has helped to improve safety records on roads as well as across multiple industries including construction.
Construction is one of the most dangerous industries in the world, so site safety is absolutely critical to preventing deaths and injuries. This includes alleviating any risks that could be caused by machinery and vehicles.
Some of the most common causes of injuries on-site include:
- being struck by a moving vehicle;
- ground workers getting trapped between a machine and fixed structure; and
- pedestrians being struck by moving parts, such as excavator buckets.
Commercial vehicle safety systems, such as 360-degree cameras, warning alarms and radar obstacle detection, are all 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
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 significant danger to anything or anyone in the vehicle’s path and inhibit the driver’s ability to operate the vehicle safely.
While mirrors and single-view cameras help to address blind spots, they do not eliminate them completely. Research shows that in the time it takes to scan four mirrors/monitor, asses and then react to hazards, even at speeds as low as three miles per hour, a vehicle can travel as far as 33 feet. However, 360-degree camera monitor systems can solve this problem.
The four-camera technology is designed to eliminate vehicle blind spots and assist safe maneuvering in challenging situations by providing the driver with a complete 360-degree view of their vehicle in a single image. The system combines images from four ultra-wide-angle cameras, providing a real-time view on the operator’s monitor. The result is a bird’s-eye view of the vehicle and surrounding area.
Backup and Warning Alarms
Rear blind spots are a huge problem, with back up incidents accounting for a quarter of deaths in the workplace. Backup alarms provide an audible warning for anyone in a vehicle or machine’s path when it is backing.
While beeping back up alarms are still widely used across the globe, multi-frequency alarms using broadband technology are considered to be much safer due to their locatable “shh-shh” sound that not only eliminates noise complaints, but, more importantly, is far quicker for pedestrians and ground workers to pinpoint, particularly when wearing hearing protection or when working in difficult and noisy conditions.
Radar Obstacle Detection
Camera monitor systems will help to eliminate blind spots in most scenarios. However, when visibility is poor, drivers and operators need additional assistance. This is where radar obstacle detection comes in.
Industries such as construction regularly operate in harsh terrains and difficult conditions, such as fog, dust and darkness, which further decreases visibility for drivers of machinery. Radar obstacle detection can detect 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. This is critical, especially in busy jobsites, to alert the operator of a nearby person or obstacle.
Vehicle CCTV
Vehicle CCTV is playing an important role in helping to improve safety and security. It provides irrefutable evidence in the event of an incident or false insurance claims and helps protect drivers from false accusations and to improve operator performance.
Incidents involving vehicles can be extremely time consuming and costly to resolve. A lack of solid evidence can often mean companies accept liability or operators are unfairly blamed, leading to increased costs for businesses and stress for operators. Vehicle-mounted cameras capture footage, providing an accurate account of events and important proof in the event of a dispute.