LEICA Geosystems has announced an integration partnership with Xwatch Safety Solutions, designed to ‘transform’ site safety by interconnecting excavator height control and slew control with Leica 2D and 3D machine control and safety awareness solutions.
With its XW series, Xwatch claims it ‘revolutionises’ the safety market, with height control, slew control and rated capacity indication (RCI). The systems monitor machine height and slew movement and are designed to restrict movement using ‘feather touch’ proportional hydraulic control.
An operator can limit the excavator’s height and side boundaries, thereby defining a working zone to increase safety around the machine.
“We are delighted with this partnership between Leica Geosystems and Xwatch Safety Solutions,” said Dan Leaney, director of sales and operation for Xwatch Safety Solutions Ltd. “The integration of our XW series directly into Leica Geosystems MC1 ecosystem is a global first and a true revolution in safety.”
Brad Mullis, product manager for safety awareness solutions at Leica Geosystems, added, “Through the integration of our Leica PA80 with Xwatch XW series we aim to provide solutions that protect assets and infrastructure but most importantly allow people to always see their families after a hard day’s work.”
The integration of the Leica iCON PA80 and Xwatch XW series aims to help protect people, assets and infrastructure on sites.
Users of the Leica MC1 machine control platform can already run the new safety awareness solution, the Leica iCON PA80, directly on their existing machine control system. The solution integrates safety awareness into the machine control platform and automatically alerts operators on the screen of the same device they use for ongoing machine operations. The solution can be used for dozers, excavators or any other heavy equipment using the Leica MC1 machine control system.
“With the integration of Xwatch into Leica MC1, we are now not only able to alert the operator but are able to proportionally slow down and stop a machine when a wearable device is detected in a configurable zone,” Mullis added. “In addition, by leveraging Leica ConX cloud solution, comprehensive logs can be downloaded and distributed for analytics within contractors’ existing management processes.”
Contractors already use both technologies, for which the partnership has been tipped to provide ‘additional synergies’. Plantforce digital manager Dale Hawkins said, “We are particularly proud that we were the first plant hire company in the UK to use the Leica Geosystem fitted semi-automatic excavator. At Plantforce we pride ourselves as being innovators in our field, providing the very latest machine technology to our customers, and Xwatch falls into this category.
“This combined safety solution with a reliable, easy-to-use system and an excellent after-sales service is why we have the confidence in Xwatch and Leica Geosystems products to enhance our commitment to safety.”
