Spillard News

Friel Construction, a major West Midlands housebuilder, has standardised on the fitment of removable rear-view systems for its entire fleet of excavators and telehandlers.

            Supplied and installed by Spillard Safety Systems of Gailey in Staffordshire, the Optronics units chosen feature cab mounted LCD screens and a magnetically attached colour cameras.

            According to Friel’s plant manager Ron Walker: “We take on-site safety very seriously and it is now company policy to fit rear view systems on all our principal items of plant, along with immobilisers and tracker systems.” Mr. Walker continues, “we consider Spillard’s equipment to be the best currently available and its three year warranty gives us complete peace of mind.”

            Friel’s health and safety manager John Berks adds: “The second biggest killer on site after falls from height is traffic accidents and we are doing everything possible to ensure our sites remain accident free. We used to rely on rear-mounted convex mirrors but we now much prefer our operators to concentrate on forward vision with the strategically placed LCD screens giving an instant alert of anyone situated near the rear of the machines.

            The choice of quick-release systems enables Friel’s operators to easily unplug and remove both the screen and camera each evening for total security. “They wouldn’t be in place long if we left them on the machines overnight!” says Mr. Berks.