Shell Chemicals, in collaboration with automotive components manufacturer Bertocco and engineering company Studio Merli, has developed an early Rollover Warning Device (RWD) to help to prevent road tanker rollovers and enhance the safety of delivery fleets.
The RWD is now available to transport fleet operators around the world, following successful trials in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
While rollovers are rare, reducing the chance of incidence is a major safety and supply chain priority for companies like Shell, said company officials. The most common cause of a rollover is the driver misjudging their vehicle’s rollover threshold when negotiating a bend or roundabout.
The RWD provides drivers with an early visual warning and audio alarm when the vehicle is approaching its rollover threshold, enabling the driver to take immediate corrective action.
Jack Eggels, Shell’s General Manager for Global Land Logistics, said: “We took the initiative to collaborate with our business partners to develop the Rollover Warning Device, because we want to do all we can to reduce the risk of road tanker rollover. We did not do this just for ourselves, but also to help customers and other transport operators across the globe make roads safer.
“Safety is a top priority for Shell and we recognize it has a direct impact on our customer service. We want our drivers to deliver products safely and return home to their loved ones.”
Shell is promoting the RWD with its contractors and encouraging them to adopt the device for their fleets. Tristar Transportation, a transport operator working with Shell and other companies across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, is fitting the device into its Shell-contracted vehicles in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, and plans to extend it to its wider fleet.
Tristar CEO Eugene Mayne said: “We trialled the Rollover Warning Device in our fleet last year and I am really convinced of its benefits. Our drivers said they feel safer because they have greater awareness of the rollover threshold of their vehicles. There is no doubt that this simple yet effective device really makes our fleet safer, and that helps me sleep better at night.”
The RWD is now available for fleet operators to order through Bertocco. The device can be fitted within hours on road tankers of any type, shape, configuration or age, and is relatively inexpensive.
