SiteZone Safety and FCC Environment — who partnered to develop RCV Smart Loader — brought together leaders from the waste and recycling industry to spark crucial conversations and drive change around RCV bin lift safety. Representatives from multiple councils and commercial operators, including Biffa and SUEZ, attended the open forum.
Gary Escott, Managing Director of SiteZone Safety, commented:
“The waste industry prides itself on sharing best practice and information when it comes to safety. However, the industry has been slow to respond to the risks associated with bin lifts used in automatic mode. We’re over two years on from the tragic fatality in Coventry, where a loader was killed and very little has changed. And we’ve just had the tragic news of another fatality after a bin lorry incident involving a worker on the Isle of Wight. Whilst the full details are still unknown, it’s a sobering reminder of the risks associated with loading bins on the thousands of RCVs operating across the country every day”
The day kicked off with a safety update from Chris Jones OBE, Chair of WISH (Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum). Chris reminded attendees of the high number of serious injuries and fatalities in the sector, and the level of underreported near misses, he explained the key issues with bin lifts, and summarised current standards.
He also outlined what is expected of both OEMs and operators, as well as solutions already available to improve safety when operating bin lifts in automatic mode.
Chris concluded with:
“The rollout of retrofits and upgrades (both OEM and third party) has been very slow in some cases with avoidable delays. HSE and WISH are aware of this and putting pressure on all parties to speed up the development and delivery of improved safety solutions. We need YOU to help us to help you…”
Next, Gareth Jones, Non-Executive Director for SiteZone Safety, took a deep dive into the BS EN1501 standard, the National Annex, and the challenges with PLr d that looks at the functional risk of a system which in this case includes people, and as a component in a system, people arguably cannot achieve PLr d. He also discussed the Bin-lift Compaction Control (BCCU) upgrade from Terberg and what potentially fatal risks remain unaddressed—such as entanglement, entrapment, or injury caused by being lifted by the bin lift mechanism itself or by a bin on the mechanism. He referenced the recent serious incident in the Scottish Borders as an example.
He also challenged the assumption that solutions would be too costly, highlighting that available solutions could cost as little as £1 per resident.
Gary Escott closed the presentations by sharing data that showed the extent of the risk and a case study from a council that has implemented RCV Smart Loader to reduce the risk for their crews.
From the data collected from RCV rounds, a loader is detected in the bin lift danger zone every 11 minutes. Extrapolated across the UK fleet, this equates to an estimated 1,000 potential near misses every minute.
Gary added,
"Our RCV Smart Loader has intervened 177,000 times across 6,000 operational shifts, reducing the risk to loaders and stopping the bin lift if they’re detected in the danger zone between the barrier arms. This is the first real data available that demonstrates the level of underreporting of near misses.”
The day ended with an exclusive preview and demonstration of the latest RCV Smart Loader development.
For over two years, the SiteZone RCV Smart Loader has been proven in the field, significantly reducing near misses and driving long-term behavioural change among collection crews.
Tony Spiezick, Contracts Manager at Coventry City Council, commented during the day:
"This (Smart Loader) does the hardest thing and that is, it changes behaviours.”
Now, our latest innovation goes a step further. The Dual Zone introduces an additional authorised personnel zone, requiring a tag to operate the bin lift in automatic mode.
This addresses two additional key risks:
Thanks to our partner FCC Environment, who co-hosted the event and played a key role in driving the conversation and change needed for RCV bin lift safety.
If you’d like to learn more about the presentations or the benefits of RCV Smart Loader for your crews, contact us.