All Round Vision – Mirrors
What is AllRoundVision?
All Round Vision is the term used to ensure that visibility from the operator’s position is adequate to ensure safety to the operator and his or her work colleagues.
How do I know if my visibility is adequate?
The field of vision from the operator’s position should be assessed through part of your sites risk assessment when assessing your responsibilities under PUWER98. Heath and Safety guidelines issued, to enable users to achieve best practice when assessing visibility, state that an operator should be able to see 1metre high at a distance of 1metre from the vehicle. A width of 300mm should also be taken into account.
What is PUWER 98?
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER 98) are enforceable under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSW Act) they came into force on the 5th December 1998. The primary objective of PUWER 98 is to ensure that work equipment should not result in health and safety risks, regardless of its age, condition or origin.
Why 1m x 1m x 300mm?
There are many conflicting explanations, however technically it represents either the waistline or the kneeling position of 5th percentile male.
As for rumour
i). the French Health and Safety executive recommended that compactor operators working on waste sites must see 1m x 1m from the operators position.
ii). in a case where a banksman was injured by a reversing dumptruck a judge ruled that it is reasonably practical to achieve a 1m x 1m area of visibility around a dumptruck using today’s STATE OF THE ART visibility aids.
How do I ensure that me machines complies with the 1m x 1m guidelines?
A visibility risk assessment should be carried out. They do not need to be complicated, generic assessments are available on our website at http://www.allroundvision.com/ To carry out a visibility risk assessment the following method should be used – 2 people required. Please ensure that the assessment is documented, noting date, vehicle make, vehicle model and vehicle identification i.e. machine serial number and file it in your machine file. This will help if you have a visit from the HSE. Park your vehicle in an open space clear from any dangers. One person will remain in the vehicle. Hold a metre stick – or a piece of wood cut to 1metre length – horizontal at waist height with the opposite end touching the vehicle.
Walk around the perimeter of the vehicle the person must be able to see your hand all the way around. The next section has been borrowed from Shanks Waste safety department.
Now walk around the vehicle repeating the above to test vision all around. Do this twice:
1. Once with the operator just moving his/her head as they normally would (make sure they are wearing their seatbelt) looking direct (that is without using the mirrors or camera)2. Once with the operator just using the mirrors (again only using the normal head movements they would make while operating the plant)Then document your results. You are taking measurements of direct vision, the person in the vehicle must stay in there normal operating position.
What if my machine does not comply?
Visibility Aids must be fitted
What are visibility aids?
Visibility aids are – Mirrors, flat and convex.Fresnel Lenses – A distorted plastic lens which fits to a rear window, similar to those seen on older buses.Camera/Monitor systems.
Why not radar or ultra sonics?
These are reversing aids not visibility aids, PUWER 98 Reg 28, requires:- so far as reasonably practical, mobile work equipment must have adequate devices to improve the driver’s field of vision where this is otherwise inadequate.
How do I choose the correct ones?
Your risk assessment should help, however, when choosing, the following factors must be taken into account – Speed, Nature of work, lighting conditions and the type of vehicle. On smaller, slower vehicles, operators are trained to look around the vehicle behind whilst manoeuvring as we do in a car, we think we can see. Convex mirrors naturally extend a drivers vision to see into the blindspots that we never knew existed. With a camera system fitted the monitor is mounted onto the dashboard this itself causes a hazard in the form of forward visibility unless a state of the art flatscreen monitor is installed, however these can be expensive. It is also very difficult to train a driver to look into a monitor in front of him whilst travelling backwards something that is not natural.On larger, faster vehicles a combination of both camera systems and convex mirrors will be required again risk assessment should help.
But convex mirrors distort the image?
A convex mirror is there to enhance visibility and to highlight dangers, what you are seeing is better than nothing. High visibility jackets are mandatory on all sites where machinery is operating therefore even if an image is distorted the fluorescent image should alert the driver to the hazard.
Should I remove my existing mirrors?
No, convex mirrors should only be fitted in addition to existing mirrors. Removing them would be like blindfolding the operator.
How do I clean them?
They can be cleaned using a mild detergent, AllRoundVision convex mirrors utilise an alluminiumised vacuum coated acrylic lens the interior is then plasticisied with lacquer after the vacuum coating is applied as it is the interior that is coated a scratched lens can be polished out using t-cut or similar it does not effect the reflective surface.
But your convex mirrors are twice the price of a round convex mirror?
The patented ARV mirror design utilises an asymmetrical lens with a non uniform radius thus producing larger visibility areas from a smaller mirror. Therefore there is greater area of error when fitting genuine ARV mirrors.
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