Bywaters Improves Vehicle Safety With Sentinel

Vehicle safety specialists, Sentinel Systems has recently worked with leading recycling and resources management providers, Bywaters to produce safer transport solutions for their  recycling and waste services.

Bywaters specialises in the recycling and disposal of various different waste and materials. The company has depots in Leyton and Bow, and operates nationally managing the waste disposal of some well-known companies and events.

To meet the demand of business, the company has a fleet of over 50 vehicles, half of which have been recently installed with four Sentinel vehicle cameras and its award-winning Bike Hotspot System.

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With many of its key customers and projects located across London, Bywaters required vehicle safety systems that allowed them to operate according to the latest regulations proposed by FORS and CLOCS. In having Sentinel’s systems installed, Bywaters’ vehicles are also compliant with Crossrail regulations, which enable them to provide their services to jobs within the development scheme.

Mohamed Abdurahim, Logistics Support Manager at Bywaters commented, “We were looking to install safety systems on our vehicles for many reasons that are beneficial to our company and drivers. Having searched around for a while we were recommended Sentinel’s solutions by another company and were given the opportunity to trial the systems. We were very impressed with the quality of product and service that was offered by Sentinel and we have since installed half our fleet with its 4-way camera and Bike Hotspot cyclist safety systems.”

He continued, “We particularly wanted to work with a company that handles all installations and services in-house, rather than sub-contract engineers, which is something Sentinel was able to offer. They also understood our needs and were able to suggest and provide a solution that was tailored to our requirements. Since installing the systems we have been impressed with their performance so far.”

Sentinel’s 4-camera system allows Bywaters’ drivers to now see the vehicle’s 360° surroundings, including the rear and near-side blind spots. This particular system is created using a selection of Sentinel’s high-quality cameras positioned at the rear, front and sides of the vehicle and is tailored to the safety requirements of the fleet based on their day-to-day operations. Refuse collection vehicles in particular often require employees to travel outside the vehicle, which instantly poses a hazard to themselves and the driver. In now being able to see people or objects, particularly at the rear of the vehicle, a driver can take caution when manoeuvring and ultimately prevent a collision.

The cameras are all linked to Sentinel’s in-cab seven inch monitor, which gives the driver a full and constant view of the vehicle surroundings whilst driving. This visual aid helps to improve the efficiency and safety of manoeuvres.

Sentinel also installed its award-winning Bike Hotspot System, which is especially designed to benefit and protect cyclists. It is said that over 19,000 cyclists are injured or killed in the UK a year, some of which involve HGV or other large commercial vehicles. With this in mind, Sentinel designed and created the Bike Hotspot System to reduce the risk of HGVs to these vulnerable road users by improving their visibility and awareness of approaching cyclists.

The system comprises Sentinel’s side-scanning sensors and cameras, which are installed along the near-side and front-step of the vehicle. These are the most common and potentially dangerous blind spots for cyclists as they are invisible to drivers at all times. With Sentinel’s visual and audible aids, the driver is alerted to a cyclist’s movement within a predetermined range which encourages them to take caution in their next manoeuvre. The system can also be set to warn the cyclist or pedestrian that the vehicle is turning left, triggered by the left-hand indicator, so that they can keep a safe distance and not undertake whilst the vehicle is moving. The system in intelligently designed to be activated whilst the vehicle is travelling under 15mph, to prevent false alarms.

In having these two, life-saving systems installed on its service vehicles, Bywaters is encouraging safe driving and are amongst some of the safest operating vehicles on UK roads. It is Sentinel’s aim to help eliminate risks associated with HGVs and reduce the daily challenges that drivers and fleet operators face every day, especially when operating in highly congested areas. The company has over 30 years’ experience in creating a wide range of safety systems which also includes auto-braking and radar reversing aids and mobile recording devices.