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Select Plant Hire continues investment in Xwatch

Xwatch Safety Solutions is installing its machine safety technology on around 30 new JCB machines being added to Select Plant Hire’s UK fleet as the company continues its investment in new equipment.

Select, part of the Laing O’Rourke Group, announced a £5 million investment in new JCB equipment in August. The order includes 370X tracked excavators, 245XR and 145XR reduced tailswing excavators, 9-tonne dual-drive site dumpers and Loadall telescopic handlers.

The Xwatch installations form part of Select’s approach to specifying safety systems on new machines entering its hire fleet. On excavators, the systems can provide functions including height and slew limitation and rated capacity indication, helping operators manage machines when working near overhead hazards, restricted areas or during lifting operations.

The latest programme builds on an established relationship between the two companies. Xwatch has previously installed its XW5 MK2 technology on larger JCB X Series excavators supplied to Select, with the latest installations extending the system across further machine types.

Warren Wilkinson, Business Stream Leader, Plant and Power Solutions at Select Plant Hire, said: “As we continue to invest in new equipment, safety technology remains an important consideration for us.

“Our hire fleet covers a broad range of manufacturers, machine types and applications, so we need equipment and technology that can meet the demands of the environments our machines are going into. Xwatch has become a valued part of that process, backed by the service and support we need to keep machines working.”

Telematics programme

Alongside the machine safety installations, Xwatch is also working with Select on a wider telematics programme.

Xwatch’s XW-Insite platform brings machine and safety information together, with data including machine location, operating hours, fuel use, productivity, CO2 emissions, geofencing, fault information and safety system settings available to fleet teams.

This gives Select greater visibility of machine operation once equipment leaves the depot and moves between projects.

Jemma Dycer-Hopkins, Sales and Operations Manager at Xwatch Safety Solutions, said: “There is a huge amount happening with Select at the moment. Our engineers are working across a substantial number of new machines, covering different machine types, and it is fantastic to see Xwatch being specified on so many new fleet additions.

“Select operates a large and varied hire fleet, so every installation has to work for the machine and the applications it is likely to encounter. That makes good engineering support and a close working relationship particularly important.

“We also have some exciting telematics activity under way with Select. There is plenty more to talk about, and we’ll be sharing the individual projects in more detail as they are completed.”

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