Balfour Beatty ramps up safety with high spec tippers 29 September 2010

Balfour Beatty Plant & Fleet Services says it has gone for high spec tippers as part of its zero deaths, zero injuries and zero ruined lives campaign.

Its 17 new units are all Iveco Eurocargo 7.5 tonne 75E16K tippers, supplied by Sherwood Truck & Van. 15 are on contract with North Yorkshire County Council; two with Rochdale County Council.

All feature Thompson steel tipping bodies, fitted with alloy/plastic sides to make lifting and fixing easier for the driver. All also have three-point access systems, a feature developed by Balfour Beatty to allow the driver to have three points of contact when accessing the body from any angle.

Additionally, all the tippers have fall protection – effectively a safety bar system that prevent falls from the body when working on the vehicle. And all have colour reversing cameras, audio warnings and axle load indicators to minimise the risk of overloading.

Unusually, 10 were fitted with sleeper cabs – an unusual feature on council-operated 7.5 tonne tippers. However, Balfour Beatty fleet services director Mike Brown says these were converted to house in-cab tool kits and space for PPE (personal protective equipment), which can be hung up to dry, when wet.

Also, one of the vehicles is trialling a new tyre pressure monitoring system to ensure that tyre pressures remain at optimum levels at all times.

"High spec? We like to think so," comments Brown. "But against a target of zero harm, there is simply no alternative. It's costlier to have accidents than to deliver innovative vehicle solutions with safety – for the driver, for the operative and for the public at large."

Balfour Beatty Plant & Fleet Services operates a mixed fleet, with some 3,000 LCVs and 1,000 HCVs, including a variety of specialist vehicles for operations such as road gritting and surface dressing.

Brown says the service from Iveco and Sherwood has been excellent.

Author
Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Iveco
Sherwood Truck and Van South Yorkshire

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