Road safety launch

A UK-based rental company has pioneered a new truck mounted access platform designed to be safer for use on roads with Italy-based CTE.

Len Wright, sales director at Clements Equipment Hire, worked with manufacturer CTE to develop the new specification CTE ZED 21JHV truck mount.

The new machine has been specially designed to make it safer to carry out activities on a motorway or highway by allowing them to enter at the rear of the cage, away from oncoming traffic.

It is able to set up in a single lane closure, reducing traffic management costs while maintaining a working environment.

It includes an adapted step located at the rear of the cage instead of one side. It also has dual outrigger controls, mounted on both sides of the vehicle, reducing the need to enter the safety zone to gain access to the cage and to deploy the outrigger legs.

An emergency lowering system is also fitted on a wander lead so in the unlikely event the machine needs to be lowered from the ground position, it can be operated from either side of the vehicle, preventing the need to access the safety zone.

Clements is the first company to take delivery of the new platform which has been rented for work to improve highway networks across the Midlands in the UK.

Mr Wright said, “I knew what I wanted to develop, it was just a case of seeing if the manufacturer was able to do it. I realised that by changing how the workmen access the cage it could have a huge impact on safety.”

“It can be quite daunting for workmen to work alongside the running lanes whilst working in a traffic management scheme and anything that improves their safety can only be a good thing for the industry as a whole.