Posted: June 2021
The new super-deduction tax announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in his recent budget is good news for the construction industry. Equating to a £25 million tax break for businesses investing in qualifying plant and machinery assets, the super-deduction tax will allow companies to claim a huge 130% of what they spend on equipment against taxable profits – meaning companies can cut their tax bill by up to 25p for every £1 they invest.
It is widely anticipated that the government’s ambitious plan, which will run from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2023, will encourage firms to invest in plant and machinery assets, helping to kickstart the sector and leading to a boom in construction projects.
However, with this growth comes the greater potential for vehicle and worker related collisions.
Construction is one of the most hazardous occupations in the world. Research has shown that, on average, seven workers are killed and 93 are seriously injured each year after incidents involving construction vehicles or mobile plant machinery.
Workers in the construction industry are at risk in a number of areas. These include:
Blind spots on large worksite vehicles and machinery can be particularly deadly. The front, rear and nearside are problematic areas of vehicles, particularly those with elevated driver positions. Harsh construction site terrains, where thick dust and mud often decrease visibility even more, further increase the risk of accidents.
On construction sites, the need for safety is paramount, particularly as the slightest mistake can have devastating consequences.
Worksites present a variety of challenges when it comes to visibility. Not only are they dusty and dirty places to be, but when this is combined with night-time hours or difficult weather conditions, it can become increasingly dangerous for ground workers to be spotted by those operating moving vehicles. Active safety systems are therefore crucial to assisting drivers and enhancing safety for workers operating in these environments.
At Brigade, we always recommend that a combination of both passive and active systems, such as cameras and alarms, are fitted to vehicles for the ultimate safety solution. We are proud to offer award-winning commercial vehicle safety solutions that are suitable for construction and plant machinery and have been built to withstand even the harshest conditions, including dust, dirt, fog, ice, rain and heat.
Brigade’s ELITE range has been developed with the construction industry in mind. It provides an even tougher selection of vehicle safety devices that offer enhanced durability for the most unforgiving situations.
This includes active technology such as Brigade’s radar obstacle detection systems, which can detect stationary and moving objects even in the harshest of environments, even in darkness, giving the driver an audible and visible warning when objects are within a certain distance. Heavy duty radar systems, which are waterproof and dust resistant, can even operate in high or low temperatures, and can easily be heard in noisy environments, making them ideal for construction sites.
Brigade’s award-winning Backeye®360 has been designed to assist low speed manoeuvrability by providing the driver with a real-time surround view of the vehicle in a single image. The system combines images from ultra-wide angle cameras, presenting a ‘bird’s-eye view’ of the vehicle and surrounding areas on the monitor, meaning drivers can clearly see people and objects as they manoeuvre their vehicles.
For further information about Brigade and our safety products, please get in touch.
