XWATCH Safety Solutions has revealed how it is supporting a programme of fleet additions at Select Plant Hire, with its safety technology being installed across new machines.
Around 30 new JCB machines are currently passing through the Xwatch installation programme, as Select continues a period of investment in new equipment.
Select Plant Hire, part of the Laing O’Rourke Group, announced a £5 million investment in new JCB equipment in August, including 370X tracked excavators, 245XR and 145XR reduced tailswing excavators, nine-tonne dual-drive site dumpers, and Loadall telehandlers.
On excavators, Xwatch systems can provide functions including height and slew limitation and rated capacity indication, giving operators additional protection when working close to overhead hazards, restricted areas, or carrying out lifting operations.
For a hire fleet, where the same machine may move between very different projects and working environments, that ability to configure safety systems around the task is said to be particularly important.
The current programme builds on a relationship between Select and Xwatch. Xwatch previously installed its XW5 MK2 technology on larger JCB X Series excavators entering the Select fleet.
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.”
Xwatch is also working with Select on a wider telematics programme. The firm’s XW-Insite platform has been developed to bring machine and safety information together, with the ability to monitor areas including machine location, operating hours, fuel use, productivity, CO2 data, geofencing, fault information, and safety system settings.
Jemma Dycer-Hopkins, sales and operations manager at Xwatch Safety Solutions, added, “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.”
