Safety in size: ensuring even the smallest machines are secure with Sunbelt Rentals and Xwatch Safety Solutions

In 2021, Sunbelt Rentals formed a partnership with Xwatch Safety Solutions to deliver the best in high-performance safety solutions. This collaboration highlights Sunbelt Rentals' commitment to safety, an important priority for the firm. The integration of Xwatch Solutions strengthens the company's efforts to supply the safest and most innovative equipment to customer sites throughout the UK.

Xwatch systems, designed to improve site safety, are installed on all types of equipment from excavators to dumpers and access equipment to piling machines. These systems aim to reduce damage to machinery and structures while prioritising the safety of the life of the operator and surrounding personnel, which is the most crucial factor of all. They are known for their reliability and simplicity, enabling customers to monitor plant machines on-site effectively. These systems can limit height, slew, and load, and the software can send alerts to the driver, particularly if there's a risk of the machine rolling when navigating inclines.

The potential risks associated with small excavators, despite their compact size, cannot be overlooked. These powerful machines can cause considerable damage, especially in congested and busy workspaces. Therefore, it's crucial to install slew limitation devices on these machines to strengthen safety protocols.

The recent installation work by Xwatch engineers Billy Hughes and Ryan Tudor for Sunbelt Rentals involved four JCB 8026 CTS (2867kgs) mini excavators. This highlights the continuous efforts to maintain high safety standards even on smaller excavators.

Dan Leaney, Xwatch Sales and Operations Director, said, "Every piece of equipment, regardless of its size, must meet the highest safety standards. Over my years in the industry, I've witnessed firsthand that even the most compact machines can lead to significant issues if they lack proper safety features. This reality drives home the critical need for us to equip every machine with the appropriate safety solutions.

It's not just about compliance or ticking boxes; it's about real-world impacts. Ensuring the safety of all machines is crucial to protect workers, bystanders, and the surroundings from potential harm. At the end of the day, our goal is to create a workplace where everyone returns home safely, and that starts with making sure every piece of machinery, no matter how small, is as safe as it can be."

Dan added, “This commitment to safety is why Sunbelt Rentals has been the ideal partner for us. They share our vision of ensuring every machine is as safe as possible, making our partnership a perfect match in working towards and ensuring a safer workplace.”

The modular design of the Xwatch Safety Solutions System offers exceptional flexibility, accommodating bespoke modifications like cutting the loom to a specific length. This ensures a perfect fit even in machines with restricted space, allowing for a cleaner installation and optimised use of available space. This approach demonstrates that safety solutions can be efficiently integrated without being cumbersome or unwieldy.

The XW4 System, designed for Height & Slew Limitation, monitors a machine's height, and slew movement. It utilises feather touch proportional hydraulic control to accurately restrict a machine's height and left/right slew parameters, ensuring the safety of the operator and the surrounding environment. The system monitors all potential machine high points and controls appropriate motions. With full power always available to move away from a limit, the operation is fully automatic, featuring easy and fast function selection. Controlled motions include ramped slow down on approach and soft stop to prevent machine 'bounce', overshoot, or undershoot.

An optional chassis sensor can enhance the system's effectiveness by correcting for terrain slope. XW4 also supports single and dual parallel wall or angular limitation by monitoring the front-end equipment and managing it for limit breaches. Limits can be set manually or by positioning the machine. If both limits are active, the system automatically adjusts the display for hazard approach. Setup is straightforward and quick, with an optional access key switch for added security. All settings are retained and become active upon startup, further demonstrating the system's convenience and reliability.