< PreviousB uilding upon the success of the Volta Zero, the purpose-built full-electric 16-tonne commercial vehicle designed for inner-city last mile deliveries, Volta Trucks plans to expand its product portfolio with three additional variants within the medium- to lower end of the heavy-duty class. With Volta Zero models available in the 7.5-tonne, 12-tonne, 16-tonne and 19-tonne weight categories, the company will off er a comprehensive range of full-electric commercial vehicles. The 16-tonne Volta Zero will be the fi rst vehicle delivered, with pilot fl eet trucks built by the end of 2021, and series production starting around 12 months afterwards. This vehicle is currently in the engineering development phase, with early prototype testing due to start shortly. Production of the 16-tonne vehicle will be closely followed by the largest 19-tonne and mid-size 12-tonne variants in 2023. A pilot fl eet of the smaller 7.5-tonne vehicles is expected to be launched for customer trials in the same year, with production commencing VOLTA TRUCKS PLANS TO LAUNCH FOUR FULLY ELECTRIC COMMERCIAL VEHICLES BY 2025 in late 2024. These later vehicles are currently in the early design development phase. All trucks will adopt the low-seat central driving position with a glasshouse-style cab. This off ers 220-degrees of visibility to maximise visual communication between the driver and vulnerable road users around the vehicle. Also, like the 16-tonne vehicle, all variants will be designed with optimised payloads, thus off ering fl eet managers the opportunity of using a reduced number of larger Volta Zero vehicles, and removing several smaller vans from their operations. The Volta Zero, designed from the ground up with an operating pure-electric range of 150–200 km, was launched in September 2020, and by the end of the year, announced the sale of 1,000 units to Petit Forestier, Europe’s largest refrigerated commercial rental fl eet. Given the strength of market demand for the 16-tonne Volta Zero, Volta Trucks will accelerate its market entry with a Europe-fi rst strategy, followed by US and Asian cities. The Volta Zero was initially launched in the UK and France and is currently in Spain for a tailored roadshow with customers. Afterwards, it will be presented in Germany and North America over the summer, with other European markets including Netherlands, Italy, and Belgium to be confi rmed by the end of this year. Volta Trucks expects to introduce the Volta Zero in all its four weight variants across all its core markets. Given the signifi cant market demand for full- electric commercial vehicles, driven by customers' needs and regulation, Volta Trucks targets to sell more than 27,000 units per year by the end of 2025. Volta Trucks has also introduced a Truck as a Service (TaaS) proposition to simplify the fi nancing and servicing of commercial vehicle fl eets. TaaS will off er fl eet managers a frictionless way to electrify their fl eets, with a single, aff ordable, monthly fee providing access to a full-electric Volta Zero, and all of its servicing, maintenance, insurance and training requirements. It will even provide a replacement Volta Zero when needed, maximising the uptime and operational 20 PLANT / MACHINERY / VEHICLESwww.plantmachineryvehicles.comJUNE 2021 COMMERCIAL VEHICLESeffi ciency of the vehicle. Volta Trucks plans to adopt a network manufacturing strategy with a number of assembly facilities distributed across its key geographies, minimising unnecessary transportation and cost. The company recently expressed an interest in manufacturing vehicles at the ‘Decarbonisation Hub’ project in the former Nissan manufacturing facilities in Barcelona. Any vehicles manufactured in Spain could potentially serve southern European markets but would not be the fi rst vehicles built. The company is considering a number of additional manufacturing locations across Europe, North America and Asia. Essa Al-Saleh, CEO, Volta Trucks, said: “When we launched the Volta Zero, we’d expected to be selling 5,000 vehicles a year with a single model by 2025. Given our pace of development, driven by customer demand, we see the opportunity to expand the Volta Zero into a portfolio of vehicles to off er a wider selection of full-electric vehicle sizes, and to accelerate the change to zero emissions. This leads us to far more ambitious sales expectations, with more than fi ve times the number of vehicles now expected to be built compared to our original proposal. That’ll see over 27,000 vehicles sold per year by 2025. To achieve these ambitious goals and timelines, we will work in a very nimble and agile way to ensure our speed to market.” 21 PLANT / MACHINERY / VEHICLESwww.plantmachineryvehicles.comJUNE 2021 COMMERCIAL VEHICLESCOVER STORY 22 PLANT / MACHINERY / VEHICLESwww.plantmachineryvehicles.comJUNE 2021Industry experts discuss the impact of safety negligence related to MEWPs and the measures needed to reduce workplace accidents SAFETY AT HEIGHT COVER STORY 23 PLANT / MACHINERY / VEHICLESwww.plantmachineryvehicles.comJUNE 2021 Jason Woods, regional manager for the Middle East and South Asia, IPAF; and Mohamed El Lakis, regional manager for the Middle East and Africa, JLG Industries. T he top causes of accidents and fatalities involving mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) worldwide are falls from the platform, electrocution, entrapment and overturn, according to the Global MEWP Safety Report 2016–18 published by the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF). While accidents and fatalities are harsh realities of working on job sites, their fi nancial and reputational impact could be catastrophic for MEWP contractors, rental companies and end users. Following an accident, a job site faces the potential risk of closure of either the accident zone or the project itself. Investigations could take up to several weeks in the case of serious accidents. As a result, the downtime could seriously aff ect the bottom line of the project, especially the ones operating with tight margins. According to Jason Woods, regional man- ager for the Middle East and South Asia, IPAF, contractors and end users can minimize the impact of accidents by investigating them thoroughly and adopting corrective measures. In this regard, the questions should not be limited to who operated the equipment, what type of equipment was used or where it was procured from; a more detailed analysis of accidents should raise questions about the root cause of the accident, such as how the machine was managed on site and whether it was the right tool for the job. “Of course, nobody budgets for accidents be- cause the goal is to avoid them. However, when an accident occurs, it could be the turning point for a project. In certain cases, an accident could aff ect the reputation of the contractor and relationship with the client, which could result in the contractor losing future projects. The fi nancial impact of an accident varies with project size, manpower, and severity of the accident. If everybody involved is competent, a negative fi nancial impact can be minimized,” says Jason. Sharbel Kordahi, managing director, Terex Equipment Middle East, explains: “Working at height accidents tend to be costly both in terms of risk to life and the project. The cumu- lative eff ect of delays due to investigations and downtime could be catastrophic. Project man- agers take pride in their number of man hours without lost time injury. Especially for projects that have a tight schedule, any disruption to a steady progress will aff ect the delivery of the project and the reputation of the contractor.” Mohamed El Lakis, regional manager for the Middle East and Africa, JLG Industries, says: “The damage in a working area or on a machine can be estimated, but it’s diffi cult to estimate the intangible impact on the project, such as loss of reputation and future business. A proper risk assessment before starting a project can help avoid the majority of potential accidents. A responsible contractor will ensure full compliance with safety standards and that all operators have the necessary training and certifi cations for a job.” In 2021, IPAF introduced a course aimed at demonstrating how to perform a thorough site assessment and select the correct MEWP to carry out the job in hand. The course is designed to help rental companies determine which type of MEWP a client should hire from them, and anyone in any industry who wishes to gain the confi dence and knowledge to make their own decisions about the type of MEWP to deploy for any task. Brian Parker, head of Safety & Techni- cal, IPAF, says: “Selecting an MEWP can be complex and challenging, even for experienced site managers. Being confi dent and suffi ciently knowledgeable to select the correct MEWP for the job directly reduces risk. Correct MEWP selection also improves the eff ectiveness of MEWP operations, reducing unnecessary costs and creating the ability to work to intended timescales. Having looked at the data around accidents and near-misses over the past few years, we felt we needed to add a course that would address this specifi c issue to the globally recognised IPAF training suite.” Sharbel Kordahi, managing director, Terex Equipment Middle East. COVER STORY 24 PLANT / MACHINERY / VEHICLESwww.plantmachineryvehicles.comJUNE 2021NEW MACHINE SAFETY FEATURES DON’T NECESSARILY FIND EARLY ADOPTERS F rom a manufacturer’s perspective, an MEWP could easily be fi tted with every safety feature possible to make the job of the operator easy, but that doesn’t guarantee a more user-friendly machine or safe working environment. Operator training and practical knowledge will always supersede any machine technology or safety feature. Even if manufacturers constantly off er machines with improved safety features, their adoption will be met with barriers such as additional costs, lack of regulations, lack of awareness among end users or safety not being their top priority. Sharbel explains: “As manufacturers, we are not limited by the safety features that we can include in our machines; however, we do not have control over negligence of safety. The major responsibilities on a job site are focused on assessing the job site itself, specifi cally the area of work, to determine whether the machine selected is the safest option for the job and evaluating whether the operator is well trained for that particular job. A risk factor that is often neglected is overconfi dent opera- tors trying to override the inbuilt capabilities of a machine and pushing the machine beyond its limits; this behavior alone is responsible for many accidents.” “Our strategy is purposeful innovation. So, we need to fi nd whether our customers are ready to pay for the advanced features that we can off er. The Middle East markets tend to follow trends in the US and Europe. Currently, rental rates are depressed and used machines are back in trend, which will delay the adop- tion of new machines with the latest features. There is so much pressure on rental companies to provide lower rates, and there’s always a tradeoff between quality and price. Ultimately, we need to cater to the demands of job sites and the budgets of our customers. The more we see multinational contractors and active lobbying by the IPAF with government bodies, the faster will be the adoption of new safety features,” he adds. Mohamed explains: “As manufacturers, we continue of off er high-end machines with all the bells and whistles that can prevent accidents provided they are operated as per their specifi cations. However, the success of working at height depends on the work environment and people involved as much as the machine itself. We can off er the safest machine, but the outcome will depend on the technical and management skills of contrac- tors and operators. The responsibility of safety extends to the contractors, project manager, site supervisor and operator, among others. Other factors to consider include ground conditions and the type of tools available for use with the machine.” “Rental companies are under tremendous pressure to reduce their rates, and they are the same companies we ask to invest in new machines and become early adopters. I believe regulations can help drive faster adoption. Once end-users experience new safety fea- tures, they’ll want more of them, especially in oil and gas and mining industries. However, rental companies need to promote new safety features to end users,” he adds. Jason says: “While tracking progress in eff orts to reduce accidents worldwide, it is important to give credit to manufacturers for introducing and upgrading safety features constantly and making it easier to manage equipment on projects. This has a favourable impact on how contractors adopt new safety features and processes for risk management. COVER STORY 25 PLANT / MACHINERY / VEHICLESwww.plantmachineryvehicles.comJUNE 2021TRAINING METHODS WILL EVOLVE, BUT THE BASICS WILL REMAIN THE SAME T he GCC saw a big shift in operator training around fi ve years ago when there was a lot of movement of machines in and out of the region. The initial challenge was fi nding the right training providers to venture beyond just equipment familiarization. “Since then, we’ve identifi ed all the gaps and emphasized on theoretical and practical training followed by assessment of opera- tors. With progress in the modes of training, e-learning appeared three years ago. While e-learning has made training more acces- sible and user friendly, not everybody enjoys or grasps concepts well through e-learning,” says Jason. In 2020, IPAF approved the use of virtual reality (VR) simulators as part of the assess- ment process of advanced operator training courses. Approved training centres deliver- ing IPAF’s PAL+ advanced MEWP operator course now have the option of assessing candidates in a VR environment as an IPAF’s PAL+ advanced MEWP operator course assessment using a virtual reality simulator. The JLG AccessReady XR virtual reality simulator. COVER STORY 26 PLANT / MACHINERY / VEHICLESwww.plantmachineryvehicles.comJUNE 2021alternative to the standard assessment using real MEWPs and a specially constructed superstructure to operate around. IPAF PAL+ is only open to existing valid Powered Access Licence (PAL) card-holders and demonstrates a higher level of profi ciency and dexterity in carrying out complex manoeuvres, as often required of contractors in advanced construction, manufacturing, engineering or processing applications. “Virtual reality could be an additional tool in the box to provide immersive and safe training. Simulator-based training could be convenient for operators that are trained and competent and seeking license renewals. We can incorporate a mix of all these new meth- ods as long as they culminate in instructor- led training and testing in physical environ- ments, because nothing else will prepare the operator for real-life situations. Eventually, a machine handled by a well-trained operator becomes the best tool for the job,” says Jason. JLG has introduced a VR simulator to help operators familiarize themselves with machines before going on a site. “Our simulator also helps some operators reduce their fear of heights as manufactur- ers enable greater working heights with new models. However, VR training, as advanced as it may be, is not as eff ective as training in a physical environment,” says Mohamed. Sharbel concurs: “We don’t view simu- lators as a game changer for training. Certainly, they will become prominent in the future, but we haven’t seen demand for them yet in the region.” The COVID situation has been a learning curve for all contractors and rental compa- nies as they have had to introduce new pro- tocols for periodic sanitisation of machines, working and training while maintaining distance between people, especially working around emergency situations with distanc- ing. Meanwhile, manufacturers and the IPAF has been delivering as many online training sessions as possible for operators, sales and aftersales staff . Sharbel comments: “During 2020, we con- ducted the most number of training sessions for sales staff . It wasn’t ideal, but we could at least reach out to the maximum number of people. We restricted servicing and after- market training to the basics because it they wouldn’t be eff ective without the trainees having access to real machines to calibrate or repair them. We rely on IPAF in the Middle East and Europe to issue certifi cations to operators. Mohamed adds: “We delivered more training sessions and enhanced our training programmes during 2020. We work together with IPAF to identify what our customers may lack in terms of training and help them. We can provide the training ourselves, but IPAF provides the certifi cations.” ACCIDENT REPORTING AND DATA SHARING CAN SAVE LIVES IPAF and its members share data on incidents involving powered access with the goal of identifying areas of risk and common trends. The accident reporting project commenced in 2012 and the knowledge gained has been used to create safety awareness campaigns and inform all the work that IPAF does, including developing industry guidance and training. IPAF’s Global MEWP Safety Report 2016–2018 presents key fi ndings from the federation’s analysis of accident statistics gathered through its worldwide accident re- porting project, which has incident reporting from 25 countries around the globe. All reported incidents involving MEWPs are collated by IPAF. This includes inci- dents that result in death, injury or a person requiring fi rst aid. It also includes near-miss incidents that didn’t result in injury, yet still represented a dangerous situation. IPAF revamped its accident reporting portal (ipafaccidentreporting.org) in 2020 to make it easier to report an accident or near- miss, which is particularly useful in prevent- ing more serious accidents. The worldwide accident reporting portal is available in multiple languages and off ers members a new interactive dashboard to access the latest available anonymised accident data. Reporting is not restricted to IPAF members, and any person or organisation can report an incident. The next edition of the Global MEWP Safety Report will be published in June 2021. Peter Douglas, CEO and managing direc- tor, IPAF, says: “The IPAF Accident Report- ing project is only as good as the data it can gather, and the usability of the analysis and statistics it generates. Having the portal available in all our core languages and also off ering reporting members this new dash- board facility will help convince people of the underlying value of the project, to help keep our industry safe.” IPAF revamped its accident reporting portal in 2020. COVER STORY 27 PLANT / MACHINERY / VEHICLESwww.plantmachineryvehicles.comJUNE 2021S ullivan-Palatek Asia, manufacturer of portable diesel and industrial electric rotary screw air compressors and ac- cessories, has appointed German Gulf Enter- prises (GGE) as its authorised distributor in the UAE. Rajesh George, regional director, Sulli- van-Palatek, comments: “We are delighted to partner with German Gulf Enterprises which meets all our expectations with regard to having a strong corporate leadership, local market expertise, excellent after-sales ser- vice and a highly-motivated rental business division in the UAE. Mark Johnson, general manager, Ger- man Gulf Enterprises, says: “The exclusive partnership with Sullivan-Palatek is part of GGE’s growth strategy. We’ve identifi ed com- pressed air equipment as one of the product groups that can complement our current off ering in the UAE. Having established our market leadership in the construction sector, we see signifi cant opportunities in the oil & gas sector, particularly in Abu Dhabi. Sulli- van-Palatek which has a proven track record of providing specifi c, and often unique, com- pressors for oil & gas applications, will enable us to penetrate this sector with comprehen- sive portable power solutions.” German Gulf Enterprises will focus on selling to rental and contracting companies as well as off er Sullivan-Palatek compressors for hire, directly. “Rental companies will also be one of our primary targets segments, bearing in mind the current market preference for rental over outright purchase. We will also add a number of portable compressors into our own rental fl eet to meet the demand of our existing clients, which are predominantly contracting companies within the construc- tion and utilities sectors,” says Mark. Sullivan-Palatek off ers a full line of porta- ble diesel and industrial electric air compres- sors for export markets. For the Middle East in particular, Sullivan-Palatek compressors are customised with oversized coolers and air ends to provide more effi ciency and reli- ability in harsh environments. “As the industry grows more competitive, Sullivan-Palatek continues to stay true to its ability to build packages and provide air power that meet customer needs. Sullivan- Palatek off ers the best warranty terms for their machines. All warranty off ered are for unlimited hours which shows our confi dence in the quality of our products. The ease of maintenance and heavy-duty construction along with the lowest shutdown rates and reasonable cost for machine and parts make SULLIVAN-PALATEK ASIA APPOINTS GERMAN GULF ENTERPRISES AS AUTHORISED DISTRIBUTOR IN THE UAE Rajesh George, regional director, Sullivan-Palatek; Ayman Ismail Ahmed, CEO-Industries, Trading and Services, Bukhatir Group; Mark Johnson, general manager, German Gulf Enterprises; and Ahmad Swaid, divisional manager-construction equipment, German Gulf Enterprises. POWER EQUIPMENT 28 PLANT / MACHINERY / VEHICLESJUNE 2021www.plantmachineryvehicles.comSullivan-Palatek the most preferred air com- pressors for rental companies,” says Rajesh. Rajesh provides an overview of Sullivan- Palatek’s range of compressors and their fea- tures that will be most attractive to custom- ers in the Middle East. “Sullivan-Palatek has redesigned its entire line of portable air compressors and contin- ue to introduce versatile and effi cient prod- ucts in response to our customers’ growing needs for reliable power. The portable range consists of models from 185 to 1800 cfm, 100 to 610 psi. All models are off ered in off shore packages as well. A large number of oil rigs working in the Middle East have had Sullivan Palatek portable and electric air compressors installed for many years, says Rajesh. At its core of Sullivan-Palatek’s 185- 400cfm portable compressor models is a two-stage twin screw air end, engineered and manufactured by Sullivan-Palatek, which gives longer life to the machine and saves fuel by 30%. The interstage cooling is best suited for high ambient temperatures. “Combining the fuel savings of two-stage technology with longer air end life expec- tancy, the savings become quite signifi cant over time! Other features include a full con- tainment frame, remote drains, and large steel fuel tanks. The compressors are also equipped with a full instrument panel, rang- ing from fuel level gauges to engine water temperature gauges, as standard features,” says Rajesh. The Sullivan-Palatek DR900PHCU wagon portable series is highly versatile for your construction, blasting, drilling, and mining projects. “This series not only provides more air when compared to our competition, but also is engineered with large twin screw air ends for high effi ciency and carry an exclusive 3-year air end warranty. The enclosure itself is made with sound deadening material that ensures quiet operation and provides extra protection while working in the toughest environments,” says Rajesh. The largest portable compressors from Sullivan-Palatek belong to the D1600-D1800 portable series. “This redesigned range is bigger and bet- ter than ever, producing 1700 at 150 and 1800 at 100 and 125 psi. The full line is built with a full containment base and large service doors for ease of maintenance. We also have the widest range of high pressure models starting from 630cfm to 1600cfm and from 20 to 42 bar,” says Rajesh. POWER EQUIPMENT 29 PLANT / MACHINERY / VEHICLESJUNE 2021www.plantmachineryvehicles.comNext >