FM Conway strengthens fleet with innovative health & safety technology

Leading infrastructure services company FM Conway has partnered with Liebherr to add three new Wheel Loaders to its fleet of vehicles, with each offering comprehensive intelligent assistance systems to greatly raise health and safety...

Reversing Manoeuvres are one of the biggest killers in the construction industry and by implementing this new technology, FM Conway can eliminate the potential risk of circa 3.2 million of these incidents each year.

The company has introduced these new vehicles as part of its Big Ten in 10 Strategy, with the aim of eliminating risk for its workforce, with a particular focus on Traffic and Pedestrian Interface.

Each wheel loader features a number of intelligent safety solutions that move away from object detection and focus on human recognition systems that can operate even in tight city worksites.

Each wheel loader has a number of safety features, including, but not limited to:

  • Active personnel detection at the rear
  • Adaptive working lighting
  • A roof camera system for 360° monitoring
  • An integral tyre pressure monitoring system

The active personnel detection system is linked to the vehicle’s braking system and monitors the rear area of the wheel loader to automatically apply the vehicle’s brakes and warn the operator of dangers by both a visual symbol on the display and a noise.

The innovation of the system lies in its ability to differentiate between people and objects without people needing to be equipped with sensors, leading to earlier warnings, a reduction in false alarms and safer working practices.

The system can log any intervention on a mapping system so the location of activation can be mapped and analysed for risk hot spots, as well as automatically reporting the high-consequence harm near misses to the business. This allows for a constant monitoring of the working processes so that further adjustments and control measures can be implemented.

The vehicles also feature a 360° camera system, which operates through the use of four additional cameras that capture images all around the vehicle and create a bird’s eye view of the machine’s entire working environment on the operator’s cab display.

Through a combination of innovative safety solutions, the new wheel loaders offer a much greater level of efficiency, productivity, and ultimately, health and safety for FM Conway’s workforce.

Andrew Cox, FM Conway Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) Director, commented on the acquisition of the new wheel loaders: “As part of our 10-year strategy to eliminate risk, we are actively searching for and delivering new innovations such as these to make not only our business a safer place, but the whole industry, and we are proud to partner with Liebherr to make this happen.”

Michael Atkinson, Liebherr-Great-Britain National Account Manager, commented: “Liebherr GB are very pleased that FM Conway has invested in the XPower loading shovels and also impressed that the company invested in the Operator Assistance systems to further prioritise safety of staff on site .FM Conway was the 1st UK customer to specify the Active Rear Personnel Detection System and others have followed since.”

Associated Businesses

  • Sevenoaks, TN14 5EL