05 Oct 26
Xwatch Safety Solutions, part of Hexagon, has reported a marked increase in enquiries and installations for its XWTele height limiting system as contractors and fleet operators place greater emphasis on telehandler safety.
The company has seen growing demand for the system, designed specifically for telescopic handlers, which provides active control over boom movement to help prevent machines from exceeding pre-set working limits.
Telehandlers remain one of the most versatile pieces of equipment on construction sites, but their ability to lift and extend loads at height also brings significant risk.
The Health and Safety Executive identifies overturning during lifting as a principal cause of fatal and serious accidents involving telehandlers. Operators and site managers are required to assess the risks associated with their use and put suitable control measures in place.
While there has not been a specific new piece of UK legislation requiring telehandlers to be retrospectively fitted with height limitation systems, the wider regulatory and standards landscape continues to develop, with contractors and fleet operators increasingly reviewing the controls they have in place to manage machinery risk.
Against this background, Xwatch has seen customers increasingly looking beyond warning systems and towards technology capable of actively restricting machine movement.
XWTele allows a maximum working height to be set either manually through the system or automatically by positioning the machine equipment at the required height. On telehandlers, height limitation can be controlled through the boom-up and tele-extension functions.
Once the limit has been set, the system retains the settings so they remain active when the machine is restarted. Set-up can also be protected by an optional access key switch, helping prevent unauthorised changes.
This can be particularly valuable when telehandlers are working beneath overhead structures, inside buildings, close to services or in other restricted areas where uncontrolled boom movement presents additional risk.
Jemma Dycer-Hopkins, Operations Manager at Xwatch Safety Solutions, said: “We have seen a noticeable increase in enquiries for XWTele and, more importantly, those enquiries are turning into installations.
“Customers are looking closely at how telehandlers are being used on site and what additional controls can be put in place to reduce risk.
“What XWTele does is give the contractor the ability to set a defined height limit for the machine and actively control its movement. That provides another layer of protection, particularly where telehandlers are working around overhead structures or other height restrictions.
“The increase in enquiries suggests this is becoming a much bigger consideration for contractors and fleet owners.”
Xwatch says the recent increase in demand reflects a broader move within construction towards engineered safety controls, particularly where machinery is operating close to structures, services or other defined hazards.
The company manufactures a range of safety systems for construction machinery from its headquarters in Wimborne, Dorset, including height and slew limitation, rated capacity indication and machine safety technology for excavators, telehandlers and forklifts.
https://www.xwatch.co.uk/xwtel...
