“We’re no different from any other company in that drivers do make mistakes and we do have the risk of trailers running away,” says Ian Jamieson, fleet engineering director for the Aberlour-based operator. “Keeping on top of this is an important health and safety issue.”
To reduce mishaps during trailer changes, the company installed 10 new Fontaine LED Sensor Fifth Wheels “We began fitting the system 3 months ago and, so far, there have been no accidents,” confirms Jamieson.
Fontaine’s new fifth wheel uses three sensors on the jaws, handle and safety clip to ensure no part of the coupling procedure has been neglected, before showing a green LED light on the fifth wheel itself to inform the driver – and security staff in any gatehouse the vehicle passes – that the is safe to operate.
An in-cab display not only confirms the exterior ‘green light’, but will give an audible and visual warning should the coupling be incomplete, acting as an additional failsafe.
Jamieson says another impressive feature is the built-in facility to take an additional feed from the circuit board mounted on the fifth wheel itself, enabling McPherson to link the sensors and LED indicator light with its existing on-board CCTV systems.
“As well as working with the cameras themselves, which we have pointed at the indicator lights on the fifth wheel, we have also been able to set the sensors to additionally trigger a red light on the monitor in the cab,” he explains. “This means not only does the driver know when he’s made an error, he knows we’re recording what he’s doing about it, too.”
Jamieson concludes: “The Fontaine LED sensor fifth wheel is definitely well worth having. It’s saving us a lot of time and effort, simply because there are no mistakes. It couldn’t be any safer.”