Schmidt Municipal Vehicles & Brigade Intensify Cooperation for Greater Safety

Schmidt Kommunalfahrzeuge (SKF) from Groß-Rohrheim has been intensively involved with municipal vehicles for private and public waste disposal companies in Germany and abroad for almost 50 years. Regardless of whether the customer opts for a new or rental vehicle or a new used vehicle, Schmidt always prioritises quality, reliability and safety.

The large-volume front loader often takes centre stage. This was also the case with a special 4-axle front loader of the “Thanos” type, which was recently built for IFAT in Munich. The driver’s cab in particular was given a small update and a newly designed control panel was installed according to ergonomic aspects. This control panel attached to a practical armrest allows the driver to work without tiring and the main monitor also attached to it is used to monitor all important vehicle functions and is also optimally positioned in the operator’s field of vision. Safety aspects in particular when driving with the Thanos and loading and transporting commercial waste can thus be monitored well.

With Brigade, we can fulfil our customers’ requirements in terms of safety technology

Jens Skowronnek

Managing Director, Schmidt Kommunalfahrzeuge

This is why a Backeye^®360 from Brigade was also installed on the current Thanos front loader. The system provides the driver with an all-round view of the vehicle in real time with a single image. It consists of four ultra-wide-angle cameras, each of which captures an entire side of the vehicle with a viewing angle of more than 180°. The calibrated cameras are mounted at the front, side and rear of the vehicle and capture the entire surroundings, including all blind spots.

This system makes all blind spots in front of, beside and behind the vehicle visible. The comprehensive bird’s eye view helps the driver to manoeuvre at low speed, for example in narrow streets in residential areas. It is also possible to see at a glance on the monitor whether there are still people or work colleagues in front of, next to or behind the vehicle or whether a work process, such as emptying a bin, has been completed.

The special feature of this vehicle is that a fifth camera is also installed on the roof of the vehicle.

This is used to monitor the dumping area and the dumping angle,

Dinesh Thiru

Area Sales Manager, Brigade Elektronik GmbH

This allows work processes to be monitored. This camera is also shown on the display in the cab.

In addition to the Backeye^®360, an 8-channel MDR with 1TB hard drive is also installed. The MDR serves as a digital witness and records the images from the vehicle-mounted cameras. The images can then be played back via the MDR dashboard on the PC or the mobile app. Brigade’s MDRs are reliable witnesses and provide irrefutable evidence in the event of accidents and incidents. For example, in the event of accidents involving waste disposal vehicles or complaints that bins have not been emptied or damage has been caused to parked vehicles.