Prolec has been a preferred supplier to JN Bentley for many years. In short, their people trust our people to deliver, so they asked us to supply the critical safety systems they need to upgrade 40 of their excavators.
Leveraging our network of suppliers, we are in the process of outfitting JN Bentley's 8-tonne excavators with our PME200 Safety System. This technology provides RCI and height-limiting functionality that meets the various safe lifting regulations set by the HSE. Once fitted, JN Bentley will be able to deploy these 8-tonne excavators to multiple prestigious projects across the UK.
Additionally, JN Bentley asked us to outfit their 13-tonne and above excavators with the PME500 Safety System. In addition to the RCI and height-limiting functionality provided by the PME200, the PME500 offers extra safety features essential to the safe operation of larger excavators. These include slew and height restriction motion – a feature that prevents the front end of the equipment from striking critical infrastructure and buildings or reaching into a restricted area. The PME500 also includes a supervisor key switch that allows an appropriately qualified and trained member of staff to set a motion cut. This key is then removed so that the setting cannot be changed by the operator. Thereby giving the site supervisor or responsible person an extra level of control.
Both the PME200 and PME500 are equipped with a data logger as standard. Therefore, should an incident occur, investigators have access to a detailed record of exactly how the machine was being used in the lead-up to the incident.
Our ability to rapidly supply and install the equipment is invaluable due to the nature of the contracts JN Bentley is engaged in. With that in mind, we are drawing upon our extensive UK and Ireland distributor network and dedicated support team. This enables us to respond to changes in the operational requirements and ensure that they are met.
Installation work for both the PME200 and PME500 safety systems is ongoing because, at the time of writing, the excavators are still being delivered to the UK. Our team is working closely with the excavator supplier, PV Dobson, to fit our safety systems in line with the supply schedule. As a result, JN Bentley will take delivery of its ready-to-deploy excavators rapidly, despite the unavoidable disruptions in the global supply chain.