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Local council adapts wireless emergency stop

Australia’s fifth largest local government authority, Logan City Council, has taken a major safety initiative this week with the installation of new wireless STOP-IT safety switches to a wide range of its machinery.
The winners will be the public and council workers who will benefit from the enhanced safety on building and construction sites.
Logan has become the first council in Australia to fit the new wireless emergency stop system called STOP-IT to its fleet of earthmoving and construction equipment.
The completely new wireless emergency stop system is designed and manufactured in Logan by local technology company Eco-Tec Systems Pty Ltd and is fast becoming an essential item in the construction and mining industries. 
Safety is a core value of the Logan City Council, following the initial introduction to the system and realizing the potential safety aspects of this small wireless emergency stop it was an uncomplicated decision to have it installed in our fleet.
Safety observers on-site can easily and remotely stop a piece of equipment instantly if they see problem.
With workplace health and safety its highest priority, Council introduced the STOP-IT system to add another level of safety to its existing protocols.
STOP-IT’s Mike Thompson said the small but effective device is fitted directly to each piece of machinery and, in effect, adds another level of safety to the existing mechanical E-stops, which have been a feature of construction machinery for some years.
The problem with mechanical stop switches is that they required someone to physically press the stop switch, which are usually located on the outside frame of machinery, Mike says.
This in itself can create dangerous and unsafe practice with other operators required to approach working equipment inside the normal safety exclusion zone.
“There have been and still are too many instances of operators not going home at night to their families and we wanted to contribute to the enhanced safety of these workers,” Mr Thompson said.
STOP-IT uses a small radio wireless transponder similar in shape to a new car key system. This unit has variable range up to 70 meters, allowing safety officers or observers to immediately shut down any piece of equipment on site without having to enter no go or safety exclusion zones.

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