July-August 2009

Reversing The Trend

Backup vision and warning systems are essential to making the refuse industry a safer place.

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Safety in the solid waste industry is changing—for the better. What was once considered one of the more dangerous industries is now rife with new technologies and updated safety protocols that have drastically cut back on accidents and injuries. A veteran of the refuse industry, Michael Ruggiero, manager of environmental Services for the Yonkers Department of Public Works has witnessed this evolution.

“We never had this technology available in the past. I’ve been here 26 years, and when I was on a truck everything was done with hand signals. To have this available to us today is fantastic.”

Technology tools available to fleets, combined with consistent safety training, have helped to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of injury and illness in waste management and remediation services has steadily declined the last few years to a low of 6.4. Still, there is room for improvement; almost all fatalities in waste management in 2007 were due to employees being struck by vehicles or highway accidents.

Photo: Brigade  Technology tools available to fleets, combined with consistent safety training, have helped to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries.

Photo: Brigade Fleets are constantly evolving to incorporate the newest and most advanced systems to protect employees and the public.

Commonly, accidents are the result of workers struck by backing trucks with poor visibility. Large trucks mean large areas that are blind to the truck operator. Often, rear vision is hindered or nonexistent, and right-side vision is impaired. In combination with personnel training, there are several technological solutions in the market to combat vision impairment and improve safety.

Rear- and side-vision camera and warning systems can vary in their use of technology and their involvement of the truck operator, but all strive to obtain the same goal of increased safety and fewer backup accidents. The following are examples of several types of safety technologies being offered and used in waste management.

Camera Systems
By providing for multiple camera monitoring, Alliance Wireless Technologies Inc.’s (AWTI’s) 3rd Eye MobileVision product line reduces accident-causing blind-spots while augmenting conventional video with access to other routing and management information, including tire pressure and temperature, GPS, onboard weight, real-time information from SAE J-1708, and hard-cornering system performance.

AWTI’s Camera System features built-in Infra-Red LED night vision. The rear-mounted camera provides rearview visibility while allowing for the display of up to five video scenes to help the driver to maneuver around difficult or dangerous driving situations while backing up, turning, or changing lanes. Additionally, AWTI has partnered with Advantage PressurePro tire pressure monitoring system for display on its in-cockpit screen. In addition to the screen display, the system automatically alerts the driver when the pressure of any tire fall below 12.5% of its initial value.

“AWT puts out a quality system,” says Trey Stamps, of Heil of Texas at Irving, TX. In fact, he had just delivered a rear-loader to a customer that morning. “It was a four-camera system with a DVD video recorder system,” he explained. “People really like the recording function because it provides a lot of information that might get lost otherwise.” One of his customers employs a fifth camera mounted in the cab to monitor all the driver functions along with the outside activities. “Some people don’t like the ‘Big Brother’ aspect,” he says, “but there’s no doubt it improves route efficiency.”

Solon, OH–based Mobile Awareness offers a range of safety technologies for blind-spot awareness. One of the company’s products is the line of VisionStat Wired & Wireless Vehicle Cameras—a set of side-view and rearview cameras and LCD monitors. The line comes with the option for wireless application. Furthermore, the cameras can come equipped with infrared and night-vision capabilities.

Working alongside customers, Mobile Awareness creates cost-effective solutions that fit the entire fleet. Brandon Stotsenburg, director of sales and marketing for Mobile Awareness, stresses the importance of creating cost-effective solutions for the entire fleet as a matter of consistency and safety. “We believe in three principles,” he says. “We want the products to be easy to install, easy to use and maintain, and we want the product solutions to work for the fleet entirely. If [the customer] only has the hardware solution on a handful of vehicles, it won’t be consistent and they won’t achieve their desired safety results.”

Rear Vision Systems by Pro-Vision Video Systems in Kentwood, MI, includes a comprehensive line of nine cameras and five monitors. Pro-Vision’s selection enables large, diverse fleets to choose the cameras and monitors that best work with their equipment, says Steve Peacock, director of sales and marketing for Pro-Vision. “It is easier for a fleet with five or six different trucks to settle on one monitor that works in the different cab configurations but choose different cameras based on body types, applications, and climate,” he says.

The most common application of Pro-Vision camera systems is a combination of their side-view and rearview cameras. The side-view is constant on the in-cab monitor, and the rearview is activated when the vehicle is put in reverse.

The most complicated of systems are those for the automated side-loading vehicles, says Peacock. “For the refuse industry, we have done up to five camera systems where they would have a camera on the left and right side, typically activated by a turn signal. They would have a camera facing straight out from the vehicle in line with the automated arm, a camera in the hopper, and when they place the vehicle in reverse they would see behind the vehicle. This is the most extreme system.”

Photo: Global Sensor Systems The Global Search-Eye Sensor System by Global Sensor Systems is used on thousands of waste collection vehicles, including vehicles in the city of Toronto.

Photo: Preco Electronics Intec Video Systems has partnered with Preco Electronics Inc. to provide an active, integrated, radar-sensing companion for the Rear Vision camera system.

Recognizing that these systems are often subjected to intense heat and vibration, Pro-Vision is always looking to improve their durability. Improvements include the addition of LED backlighting for the flat screen monitors, potting circuit boards, and twist-lock type connectors for monitors.

As one of North America’s largest manufacturers of camera systems, Rosco Vision Systems’s most popular offerings are the company’s side-view and rearview cameras. The company also offers complimentary camera kits that are right-angle based, says Peter Plate, director of sales and marketing at Rosco. “If a garbage truck is backing out of an alley, a very precarious situation may occur where they need to back into traffic yet they don’t know if there is traffic. We have right-angle cameras that will be mounted perpendicular to the vehicle side in the rear. So as a drivers are backing out, they can actually peer down the right side of the street to see if it is clear.”

Their cameras can come equipped with infrared LED night vision and motorization. Monitors can range from black-and-white CRT to color LCD flat screens. While Rosco currently does not have audible warnings with its camera systems, future product offerings will include technology that can discern pedestrians from other objects.

The department of public works for the city of Yonkers, NY, uses Rosco Vision rear-vision cameras in its fleet of 40 rear-loading collection vehicles. According to Michael Ruggiero, manager of environmental services, the cameras have made a significant difference.

“Every week I hear stories saying [the employees] are glad they had the rear cameras. Yonkers is a very densely populated city. The streets are small. There is parking on the street. They are almost like crawl spaces, some of them. Having the camera available to them has made a big impact, virtually eliminating fender benders that might have occurred in the past.”

As an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Plate touts Rosco Vision Systems quality as a differentiator among its competitors. These standards include the IP67 test, which requires products to be totally protected from dust and protected against the effect of immersion by 15 centimeters and 1 meter for up to 30 minutes.

“We are very much in tune with the higher standards of an OEM environment, and as such all our products are tested to these very rigorous standards.”

Sensor Systems
The Global Search-Eye Sensor System by Global Sensor Systems is used on thousands of waste collection vehicles, including vehicles in the cities of New York and Toronto. Ray Glenn, general manager of Global Sensor, says the Global Search-Eye Sensor System’s differentiation is twofold. First, the sensor system utilizes infrared technology, which picks up the reflection of its own light. Second, the system is active, employing automatic braking.

“Our infrared senor system is what we call an active modulated infrared. It picks up the reflection of its own light and reacts to that. We set up a range for the sensor normally set at 6 feet. Our system is energized off the backup light switch,” states Glenn. “If anything enters the protected area—the full width of the vehicle and 6 feet back—the brakes will be applied automatically.”

Steve Plaskos, manager of fleet services for the city of Toronto, recalls how this system was key in avoiding an accident in Toronto in the early 1990s. “[The operator] backed up, and the bubble-style tailgate was approaching the windshield of the car behind the truck. The car had nowhere to go. The brakes on our packer did come on in time to prevent the accident and possible injuries even though the driver had no visual.”

The automatic braking can be disengaged if the vehicle operator needs to back up to a loading dock or wall. When disengaged, an intermittent audible warning is given to inform the operator the automatic braking system has been overridden, and the tone becomes solid when the object is within 6 feet.

Plaskos believes the Global Search-Eye Sensor System is an essential addition to ensure safety.

“This technology was one of the first that we used in the 1980s. Given the fact that most manufacturers offer a large bubble-style tailgate, the cameras cannot always give you that clear view. The backup Global Sensor adds that extra element of security.”

Preco Electronics, has been in the backing safety business since 1947 and patented the first electronic backup alarm—a beeper to warn bystanders that the vehicle was reversing—for commercial truck use in the 1960s. Later, flashing lights were added to increase bystander awareness, while drivers were provided video cameras and monitors to reduce blind spots. Yet, according to the US Department of Transportation, reversing operations account for 25% of commercial vehicle operations. With this in mind, Preco launched its PreView Radar Systems for detecting rear-quadrant objects, many of which often lie outside the observation limits of mirrors or video monitoring systems. Sensors are designed to process and report detections within a half second, allowing the vehicle operator to quickly respond to any object within the detection zone. All connections to a vehicle are made with the interface harness. Power is obtained from the vehicle reverse circuit. The sensor RF output is pulse modulated so that it will not interfere with similar devices.

Photo: Republic Services With the right educational programs, safety products are far more effective.

 “We’re speccing PreView on all our new trucks except for rolloffs,” says Roy Svehla, senior manager for fleet maintenance for Republic Services Inc., in Phoenix, AZ. “We piloted several systems for driver acceptance before settling on PreView,” he adds. PreView is designed to work in harsh weather conditions.

Engineered for extreme duty environments—waste and heavy construction—the XL Series of Car Vision cameras from Intec Video Systems Inc. are built to military-spec moisture protection and strength requirements. Available in variety of black-and-white, infrared, and color models, Intec camera systems connect to Intec’s high-resolution Car Vision driver displays, ranging in sizes from 5 inches to 10 inches. Many Intec displays feature onscreen distance grids, providing an easy reference for checking clearances when backing and turning.

Intec Video Systems has partnered with Preco Electronics Inc. to provide an active, integrated, radar-sensing companion consisting of one or two environmentally sealed sensors and an interconnect adapter harness for the company’s Rear Vision camera system.

The sensor assembly transmits and receives low-power 5.8-gigahertz radar signals. It then processes the returned signals to determine if an object has reflected any energy back to the sensor and reports this to the operator through the Intec video display.

SenseStat and SenseStat Plus Obstacle Detection Sensor Systems by Mobile Awareness are also popular applications from Mobile Awareness. The SenseStat line is an active warning system that uses ultrasonic sensor technology designed to prevent backing accidents. “It provides four sensor zones that are mounted on the rear of the vehicle with an ultrasonic technology that allows you to see and hear 8 feet behind the vehicle. It provides an audible alarm and a visual display,” Stotsenburg explains. “As you put a vehicle in reverse, if a person or an object is behind the vehicle, it will tell you very accurately within feet and inches where that object is and what zone the object is in. If it starts beeping, the expectation would be that the driver would put on the brake and then look at the system and see where the object is.”

New to the Mobile Awareness lineup is the SenseStat Plus, which integrates the SenseStat interface as an overlay on the VisionStat monitor.

Says Stotsenburg, “The SenseStat Plus will allow people who feel comfortable with the camera view but want the benefits of the SenseStat active system, creating a combination of an active and passive systems all in one place.”

Backup Warning Systems
Typical tonal backup alarms illicit complaints about noise and many argue they create confusion about the truck’s location rather than warn of danger. By contrast, the bbs tek white sound alarm from Brigade Electronics utilizes broadband sound that enables the brain to better triangulate the source’s position.

 The bbs tek system is in use by approximately 1,000 waste management vehicles throughout the United States. Henry Morgan, Brigade’s director and general manager, remarks that those who use the systems find the learning curve very simple on first exposure: Hear, look, and learn.

“You hear the sound,” he says. “You know where it is coming from. You instantly look at it, and you’ve learned it’s a backup alarm.”

Paul Blount, solid resources manager for the city of Los Angeles, has tested the bbs tek and lauds its ability to warn bystanders more intelligently. “The first thing that impressed me was the fact that [the sound] was directional,” he says. “To me it gives you much more information about what is going on and where a potential threat has originated.”

Other advantages of the system include fewer false alarms, reduction in hearing loss over sustained exposure, and drastically reduced noise pollution.

As a part of its Citywide Construction Noise Mitigation rules, New York City officially approved the bbs-92 system for use near sensitive areas. Also, due to its reduction of noise pollution compared to standard tonal warnings, bbs tek is the only approved alarm system for nighttime delivery use in the Netherlands.

Training and Technology
Driving the use of these systems is corporate policy from the major waste collection companies. However, increasing situational awareness of the vehicle operators and working bystanders requires more than a technological solution.

As Brandon Stotsenburg of Mobile Awareness says, “More awareness for the drivers in an educated environment will enable them to operate more safely and productively. If our products are added under the right educational program, the success of those programs accomplishing what the company wants to accomplish will be significantly greater.”

In response, the large waste companies, Republic Services and Waste Management, are taking similar approaches to safety by instigating top-down directives that addresses technological solutions, but also emphasizing safety training.

Waste Management’s safety policy is guided by its Mission to Zero (M2Z) objective. As the name suggests, Waste Management is committed to maintaining a zero tolerance for unsafe actions and conditions to exist in its operations. Safety training is required for new and existing employees throughout the year. This training takes the form of formal courses, weekly safety meetings, and, sometimes, daily safety briefings.

Republic Services prides itself on being a front-runner in safety in the waste collection industry. Republic uses cutting-edge safety training through its Market Area Training Centers, where all employees undergo initial and new-hire training. Typically, new hires train for a period of time at the Market Area Training Centers and then receive additional on-the-job training. Both waste companies couple their mandates for safety training with vehicle technology.

Waste Management collection vehicles are mandated to be equipped with rear-vision camera systems and backup warning devices with visual and audible components. Other common safety components are side-view camera systems and equipment storage warnings that indicate if equipment is stored properly for travel. All equipment is rigorously tested before qualifying for use by local divisions.

Fresh off its merger with Allied, Republic Services is finding it easy to blend the best of both companies particularly from a technology standpoint, says Shawn Mandel, manager of safety for Republic Services. “We were able to keep very talented folks on both sides of the company. We found many similarities. We were piloting similar technologies, and many of the equipment requirements were the same. We are excited to see the continued momentum under the new flag.”

Republic Services mandates rear-vision cameras and Peterson LED lights to ensure durability and performance.

Newer technologies are piloted and implemented in Republic vehicles, such as DriveCam, SmartDrive, and GreenRoad. These technologies are relatively new to the industry and warn of risky maneuvers, record collisions, and provide feedback on operator performance.

Active Versus Passive
One of the major differentiators of backup safety systems is whether it is passive or active. Determination of an active or passive system is on a sliding scale. Most commonly, passive systems are cameras that allow the vehicle operator to judge the course of action through the visual cue provided by an in-cab monitor. Active systems involve an audible warning or automatic braking if an object gets too close to the vehicle.

While the degree to which a system is active or passive is debatable, so too is the utility of such systems. Peacock believes the visuals provided by rear- and side-vision systems are appropriate.

“If the correct camera is selected by the end user, there is absolutely no need for a sensor because there are no false warnings.” He also cites that active systems with audible warnings may “give the operator a false sense of security.”

On the other hand, active systems reduce or remove the human element from the equation, which can be viewed as a benefit.

Glenn of Global Sensor Systems touts his active system. “Unless the drivers look at the monitor and put the brakes on when they see something, they can still back over anybody or anything,” Glenn says. “In our system, if the driver started backing up and ran away, the vehicle would still stop before it ran into anything.”

Regardless of a fleet’s preference, federal recommendations may dictate a move to include more active systems, says Stotsenburg. “Recommendations coming from the federal government say that a passive system is good, but they are more and more starting to ask for a combination of active and passive systems.”

The Switch to ASL
Fleets across the United States are making the transition from rear-loading vehicles in favor of automated side-loaders (ASLs). This makes sense from a safety perspective, as it increases safety by removing workers from potentially dangerous situations, and it makes sense from a collection perspective, according to Mandel. “The residential rear-load approach is becoming more and more antiquated. Automated side load is the way we should be servicing residential collection from 2009 and beyond.”

However, a single-vehicle operator requires additional cameras and warning devices to make up for fewer human eyes. Ray Glenn anticipates the increased use of its system as more fleets shift from rear-loading to ASL. “[The vehicles] go from two, three, or four people on a rear-loader to one person, an operator” he says. “There is no person that can act as a flag person at the rear of the truck when it is backing. That creates a tremendous opportunity for [our technology] because that driver needs us.”

Trend: Beyond Backup
Technologies that focus beyond backup vision and warning may be the next step in keeping workers and the public safe. While most solid waste companies are still focused on rear-vision and warning systems, companies like Republic Services are expanding their use of safety technologies to include driver performance monitoring systems.

Furthermore, systems providers are moving away from traditional camera systems and offering additional safety devices with ancillary benefits. For example, Mobile Awareness offers the TireStat tire-pressure monitoring and maintenance system, a sensor system that monitors tire pressure to avoid catastrophic failures and improve gas mileage.

The 360HD Tire Pressure Monitoring System from Doran Manufacturing  of Cincinnati, OH, provides the driver with at-a-glance status updates with its Green Means Good indicator. This system monitors up to 36 tires for truck, tractor and trailer applications with wireless tire pressure sensors that are screwed on to the valve stems and transmit a signal to a monitor in the cab.  The driver is alerted through multiple alarms types (audible, location, pressure and warning symbol) and a new “fast leak” alarm so that low-pressure problems can be addressed and costly breakdowns and repairs are eliminated. Installation can be accomplished in about an hour per truck/trailer. The monitor includes a digital LCD screen with backlit display and comes equipped with four-way navigational buttons. 

As a result of customer feedback, safety technologies are broadening to include systems that serve the dual function of measuring driver performance and recording accidents. Rosco Vision Systems offers Dual-Vision, a driver modification product that provides continuous video of the driver’s actions and 180 degrees around the front of the vehicle.

“The tool is useful in helping to modify driver behavior and improve driver’s performance, productivity and efficiency. It is also there to protect fleets from false allegations and fraudulent claims,” says Plate.

Like camera and warning systems, driver performance systems can be active or passive. An example of an active technology is GreenRoads, an event-recording device, piloted by Republic Services.

Shawn Mandel explains, “GreenRoads gives immediate feedback in the form of a light. It is a red-yellow-green-light approach. The objective is for the driver to continue to drive green. When he or she performs and maneuver—a hard brake, an accelerated takeoff, or takes a corner at too high of speed—it triggers the system and the driver can see it go from green to yellow or green to red depending on the significance of it. If they do it enough it records the entire route day as that color code, and then there is management follow up.”

There are even more technology solutions that increase safety and improve situational awareness, such as headway monitoring, forward collision warning, and lane departure warning systems.

Seeing increased adoption by the refuse industry, Mobileye provides a combination of these three systems in its Advanced Warning System line. This system monitors headway distance, providing visual feedback indicating its distance from the vehicle in front. It also gives audible alerts to the operator if the vehicle diverts from its lane or is in danger of forward collision.

Fleets are constantly evolving to incorporate the newest and most advanced systems to protect employees and the public. Similarly, companies that provide these products are looking to improve upon these current systems and address any safety concern not yet covered by the market. The drive to keep safety a priority in the waste industry assures that these tools and the supplemental safety training will continue to improve.

Author's Bio: Author Kelly Schmandt is a marketing specialist with Yardi Systems in Santa Barbara, CA.