CASE STUDY
Safe radios for fuel industry workers The core business of New Zealand Oil Services Ltd (NZOSL) is the operation, maintenance and development of the energy storage terminals across New Zealand. It provides terminal services and management of incoming product via shipping and tank truck loadings. NZOSL Terminal operations manager Kerran Deihl manages and monitors the transfer of fuel products between the port, storage facilities, trucks and service stations for NZOSL. A recent upgrade to Motorola MOTOTRBO digital radios on the network has provided reliable communications with intrinsically safe devices, which has improved the safety and productivity for the business. Deihl explains the radios are durable and the staff are confident in using them: “We treat radios as personal protection equipment (PPE), so they must be intrinsically safe. We needed the green stamp to make sure all staff - managers, drivers, control centre, contractors - have something reliable, operating on a reliable system.” The digital radio rollout has resulted in a number of benefits including: a safer workplace; clearer, reliable audio; durability; autonomy; and improved productivity.
“Black spots and drop-outs during conversations - highly undesirable in this industry - don’t exist anymore,” says Deihl. “Motorola earpieces have been critical so we still get clear audio in noisy environments, such as when loading fuel. Even though there’s more than 110 decibels of noise with hearing protection, we have good results. Using the microphone we avoid lots of wind noise too.” Deihl explains there is also future potential for the system with lone worker safety applications. He says: “We’re trialling the mandown system, activated by the balance switch or lack of activity. Due to the nature of our products, we avoid people working alone as much as possible, but if they have to, we want the control room to be instantly notified of anything unusual. We’re also looking into GPS for staff locations, as well as direct dial-out to emergency services.” The technology partner for the Motorola MOTOTRBO digital radios upgrade was i-see Security & Communications, and Deihl said the staff were very reliable, knowledgeable and easy to deal with. Motorola Solutions Australia Pty Ltd www.motorola.com/au
NEW PRODUCTS
Automatic bin tipper The Actiskip Dumpmaster from
Light-duty truck with safety features Hino 300 Series is a light-duty truck with standard vehicle stability control and a suite of safety equipment. According to the company, it is the first light-duty truck in Australia to include vehicle stability control (VSC) as standard equipment. VSC acts as an additional layer of safety by applying selective braking to individual wheels, assisting the driver in maintaining control of the vehicle. It incorporates traction control, and is designed to help prevent the vehicle from skidding out of control should it deviate from the driver’s intended path through a corner. It is recognised by experts across the world as being active safety technology that saves lives. The VSC and traction control system can be switched off - to assist in control of the drive-wheel traction when the vehicle is in muddy conditions. Other safety features include dual SRS airbags, four-wheel ventilated disc brakes, electronic brake force distribution (EBD), anti-lock braking (ABS) and front under-run protection (FUPS). Hino Australia www.hino.com.au
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Actisafe is an automated system that safely handles and empties standard-sized dumpster bins. Suitable for most industrial businesses, warehouses, government offices, service stations, fast food restaurants, clubs, pubs, schools and TAFEs, the device is of particular use when the bins are heavy or in frequent use. Designed to eliminate back strain, it can be used in situations where there is an OHS imperative to safely handle dumpsters. The device uses a simple bump mechanism to release the skip into the waste container. Actisafe www.actisafe.com.au