CLOCS-A calls for construction companies to ensure the safest vehicle journeys.

CLOCS-A (Construction Logistics and Community Safety – Australia) is a critical initiative, given Australia’s relentless construction boom and the risks to vulnerable road users around construction vehicles. It’s also a clarion call for the type of heavy vehicle safety solutions offered by MAX-SAFE.

CLOCS-A is a recommended approach to safety that builds on the UK CLOCS program designed to reduce VRU fatalities and injuries related to construction logistics vehicles. It advocates for – and helps – construction companies to take ownership for road safety across the supply chain, aiming for a similar reduction in construction-related deaths and serious injuries on Australia’s roads as the UK (47%).

The UK’s construction boom, leading to the London 2012 Olympics and ongoing, e.g. the Elizabeth Tube line and Isle of Dogs, found construction vehicles were responsible for a disproportionately high number of cyclist and pedestrian fatalities involving heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in London. Often this was because of blind spots due to truck design and windows providing limited visibility.

SGESCO-MAX INVOLVEMENT IN CLOCS-A

In Australia, CLOCS-A has been facilitated by the National Road Safety Partnership Program (NRSPP) to provide a consistent framework for industry to achieve. It calls for the construction industry to recognise its responsibilities for vehicles and drivers delivering to, and collecting from, construction sites.

With SGESCO-MAX’s experience in delivering heavy vehicle safety solutions that protect vulnerable road users, SGESCO-MAX joined the NRSPP as their first technical partner in April 2021 and also CLOCS-A at the same time as a supporting partner.

We are also a founding member of the CLOC-A Technical Group for Safer Vehicles responsible for developing standards, policies and tools for CLOCS-A, including minimum safety standards and features required in construction and transport vehicles facilitating construction projects to reduce harm. Laing O’Rourke was one of the first construction companies in Australia to adopt CLOCS-A.

PROPOSED CLOC-A SAFETY STANDARDS

CLOCS-A is proposing three levels for the vehicle safety specification – Bronze, Silver and Gold – apply to heavy vehicles, with the Bronze level likely to be a compulsory standard for all HVs and the other two being best practices and recommended for vehicles that spend more time on construction sites. The DRAFT Standard is available here. (See page 26 for the Vehicle Safety Specifications)

Of the proposed specification, SGESCO-MAX’s MAX-SAFE Safety range can help businesses comply with the following vehicle safety requirements:

Bronze 

• Reversing Sensor; or Reversing Camera

Silver 

• Left-side Blindspot Camera; or Left-side Proximity Sensor
• Left-turn Audible Warning

Gold 

• Telematics Monitoring System
• Advanced Emergency Braking (Rollaway)
• Autonomous Reverse Braking

HOW MAX-SAFE SOLUTIONS WILL HELP COMPANIES COMPLY WITH CLOCS-A

The Bronze and Silver recommendations for sensors or cameras address issues around heavy vehicle blind spots. At least 25% of the surrounds of a heavy vehicle are a blind spot for a driver – notably in Australia on the left-hand side and corner.

For Australian companies wanting to adopt CLOCS-A Standards, SGESCO-MAX offers solutions to address Blind Spots, alert drivers and people outside the vehicle, brake a HV, and provide key telematics data.

Cameras
The MAX-SAFE Vision Range of products includes cameras (AHD, Digital, and Thermal), screens and recording technologies, providing vision capabilities on all sides of a vehicle including 360 views.

Motion Sensors
MAX SAFE Watch, a range of sensor solutions for the front, corner, sides and rear of a truck detect and identify pedestrians, cyclists, moving vehicles and objects like guardrails.

Collectively these solutions can address all the blind spot zones that heavy vehicles have to contend with:

Audible Warnings
Audible Warning systems provide a better alert to site workers and vulnerable road users than beeper systems. The MAX-SAFE Audible Warning system enables human voice recorded messages to be played, based on particular programmed events, e.g. vehicle turning left, vehicle turning right, vehicle reversing, etc..

Autonomous Reverse Braking is an active safety solution where a vehicle will break when it detects (via sensors) the presence of a person or object within a certain distance of the vehicle. The vehicle will brake faster than a human can react and press the brake pedal. This is technology that we can combine with our MAX-SAFE Reverse Watch Solution

Telematics provide fleet managers with the ability to monitor and track driver behaviour, traffic routes, incidences and generally help develop best practices around CLOCS-A. SGESCO-MAX partners with MiX Telematics to incorporate driver behaviour, safety monitoring of MAX-SAFE solutions and other events into a single Fleet Management Solution.

Many of these solutions are used by thousands of trucks throughout Australia and New Zealand. These solutions will ensure construction companies and contractors are CLOCS-A compliant, delivering better road safety for the benefit of all road and site users. G

VRU CONSTRUCTION DEATHS IN AUSTRALIA & UK – PERFECT STORM UPON US.

In Australia, property development and construction are a core part of the economy making up 7.5% of Australia’s GDP. It continued unabated during Covid-19 and is under increasing pressure due to Australia’s housing crisis. With government and industry investing heavily in development over the coming decade this will see:

• more properties, especially low-income households in new suburban regions
• Infrastructure for parking, roads, services (hospitals, schools, supermarkets, service stations public transport hubs)
• demolition and re-development of existing property/land in inner cities – increasing density – as many people prefer inner city lifestyles and proximity to work/services.

All of this is happening against the backdrop of increases in public transport and active transport, which increases the risks for vulnerable road users until dedicated pathways are created.

Pedestrian deaths hover around 15% of all road toll in Australia,

Heavy vehicle crash data for Sydney and Melbourne highlight that most accidents happen in locations where there are more people: Sydney, Canterbury-Bankstown, Parramatta and Melbourne, Brimbank, Moreland Yarra, Frankston respectively.

SAFER OUTCOMES – IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION EFFICIENCY

The adoption of the pending CLOCS-A Standard will help construction companies provide greater community safety — and be more efficient — by avoiding site shut down situations and delays due to injuries or fatalities caused by construction-related vehicles.

It promises a win-win for the community and construction companies.