Spillard News

A new mobile classroom designed to showcase the blind spots that affect construction and quarry machinery and vehicles was launched recently at Plantworx 2015.

Wolverhampton-based Spillard Safety Systems has taken its message on the road to help reduce the number of injuries caused by accidents as a result of a lack of vision…an issue that is costing the sector up to £700m every year.

The leading supplier of mobile safety equipment has invested more than £75,000 on kitting out the vehicle, which displays information boards, photographs and eye-opening videos on what can happen if blind spots aren’t fully observed.

More than 200 students and industry professionals gave it the thumbs up at Plantworx, with even more people receiving their first look around at the Plant and Waste Recycling Show later that week.

“A lot of injuries and even fatalities can be prevented if companies and individuals recognise how dangerous ‘blind spots’ can be if they are not overcome by educating people or fitting specialised vision aids or even adopting new technologies,” explained Peter Spillard, Managing Director.

“Having carried out blind spot studies for over 20years, rather than wait for people to come to us we thought it would be a good idea to hit the road and take the message out to them and what better way to do that than through this new mobile classroom that brings it to life.”

He continued: “The feedback has been really positive and if we’ve saved one person from being injured than its introduction will have been worthwhile.”

Spillard Safety Systems will also be using the mobile classroom to showcase some possible solutions to blind spots, many of which have been designed using new vision studies and special blind spot maps that prove safety can be improved when the driver is more aware of their surroundings.

These include convex mirrors and the VCAS industrialised detection system that can detect objects within machine blind spot areas and cannot be turned off or ignored.

Thanks to an annual commitment to R&D, the firm is investing significant resources into it’s groundbreaking Optronics 360° camera, which provides drivers with all-round vision of their vehicle from a single screen.

Peter concluded: “This state of the art system allows us to ensure flexibility in achieving maximum 360 degree vision at all heights, providing a critical aid to reducing risk and saving lives. There is nothing like this in the marketplace from flexibility and delivery and we’re exciting to roll it out to even more clients.”