Posted: March 2019
Few companies across construction have taken to addressing environmental conservation like Conway have. A recent £7 million investment in their fleet has shown the forward-thinking business add electric vans to their London sites in a bid to tackle high emissions in a sustainable way. Sustainability of course is key and Conway are clearly now reaping the rewards that electric vehicles can offer; saving 2/3rds in fuel expenses, paying zero road tax and avoiding low emission zone fees.
The electric vans are in constant use connecting sites and making deliveries in and around London, yet one significant problem has been making driving the new vans difficult; Electric vehicles are tremendously quiet at low speeds. With large tippers and telehandlers operating on sites, workmen would struggle to hear an approaching silent, electric van. Without an affective alerting system, the vans could not be heard in time in time for workers on the ground to take evasive action. The prospect of a collision due to not hearing the vehicle posed a risk that Conway did not want to take.
After working with Brigade, Conway knew where to go to find a solution for their quiet vehicle problem. The Brigade Quiet Vehicle Sounder was the perfect solution for Conway’s electric vans, alerting those on foot of the electric van’s presence at low speeds. The sounder turns off at 20mph so noise disturbances are kept to a minimum when road noise generates enough sound that the vehicles can be heard.
The Quiet Vehicle Sounder is designed to emit a blend of Brigade’s bbs-tek® White Sound® frequencies and tonal sounds. This mix of frequencies ensures the QVS is only ever heard in the danger zone, is instantly detectable and locatable.
Conway’s decision to adopt the Quiet Vehicle Sounder was also helped by it’s ability to work in harsh conditions. With dust, dirt and sand being common across construction sites, an alerting system that stays working in these environments was pertinent.
“Before retrofitting the Quiet Vehicle Sounder it was stressful driving on to site not knowing if people would hear you, it was nearly impossible, especially in the morning when we were all arriving to work. Now the QVS makes sure everyone knows you’re there. It’s a made a world of difference.” Pat Murphy, Reactive Supervisor, Conway
Conway are now looking to fit the QVS to any electric vans that are added to their growing electric fleet keeping sites across London both environmentally friendly and ensuring safety is a priority.
About FM Conway: FM Conway deliver infrastructure services across transportation, construction and the built environment.
