Vision Techniques keeps fleets safe and secure
Technology provider Vision Techniques’ product portfolio includes a range of solutions to help improve vehicle security and safety, including by preventing unauthorised vehicle use.
The company says its products allow fleet managers to operate safe in the knowledge that risks are being more than adequately managed.
Dave Smith, head of operations at Vision Techniques, commented: “Our company’s purpose has always been to save lives. We’ve invested in developing new technologies that help make our clients fleets safer.
“One particular risk area is rollaways, and that’s why we developed Brakesafe and Ident Plus to increase vehicle safety and security.”
The company is working with blue-chip organisations such as DHL as well as smaller independent operators and most local authorities in the UK, providing them with systems that keeps people safe and helps prevent reputational damage.
Organisations across the UK, including Hartlepool Council, Durham Council and Biffa Waste, are exploiting Vision Techniques’ technology to increase the safety of their fleets.
The Ident Plus system has been designed to prevent theft or injury caused by untrained and unauthorised use of on-board equipment, and prevents vehicle use by unauthorised drivers.
The system provides independent control of vehicles by using programmable via RFD technology. Ident Plus also incorporates Vision Techniques award-winning’ anti-rollaway technology, greatly improving vehicle safety and security.
Meanwhile, the multi-award-winning Brakesafe stops rollaways by implementing a handbrake failsafe system. Designed and manufactured in the UK, the system automatically applies the handbrake if the driver forgets when leaving the cab. The ‘always on’ system doesn’t require driver interaction and, when applied, alerts the driver to it being activated via an audible warning.
One of Vision Technique’s most recent installations of Brakesafe was for national plant-hire business, Flannery Plant Hire Ltd. The team at Vision Techniques installed the automatic braking system on the business’ 50-strong fleet of HGV low loaders.
Established in 1972, Flannery Plant Hire operates across the UK and provides over 3,500 units of plant to its customers via its delivery vehicles.
John Moran, director of Flannery Plant Hire, said: “Unfortunately, 2022 has already seen approximately six rollaway incidents, one of which has led to an HGV driver’s death. Our business operates more than 54,000 deliveries of plant hire equipment, so it’s paramount we’re operating safely.
“We partnered with Vision Techniques because they’ve been the vanguard for vehicle safety products, and we knew we could rely on them to help us with our commitment to operating a very safe fleet. The Brakesafe system is an important innovation that keeps our drivers and members of the public safe.”
Other organisations using the system include Tesco, Firow, XPO Logistics, DHL, Cemex, and Flogas. The latter operates over 400 vehicles and needed an automated system which didn’t require driver involvement, guaranteeing greater vehicle security and safety.
Rollaway incidents are a vital issue that Flogas identified and wanted to prevent. The company’s transport manager said: “With the arrival of Brakesafe, we have found a robust and cost-effective way to apply this protection.”
One of the key features Flogas required was linking the system to their in-cab camera and DVR system, ensuring footage could be reviewed of any potential rollaway and assisting with retraining drivers and investigating incidents more thoroughly.
“To capture footage of what was occurring at the time of a rollaway was vital for us,” said the transport manager.
“It gives us unambiguous and impartial evidence of what was happening in the seconds leading up to an incident, which is invaluable in helping us ensure that similar events do not happen.”
Many local authorities are also utilising Brakesafe, with Oxford, Durham and Glasgow Council relying on systems from Vision Techniques to enhance their fleet safety. Hartlepool Council recently installed VT Brakesafe, Ident Plus and VT Record 5 live cameras to all 40 vehicles in its fleet.
Dave Smith of Vision Techniques concluded: “For many organisations in the private and public sector, the focus on vehicle security and safety is only going to increase and rightly so, and while there’s a need to operate fleets efficiently, we’re seeing that many of our customers are putting safety and security first.”
