Heavy Equipment safety and compliance with United Plant Services

Getting Safety and Compliance right, particularly with larger machines, is critical for our sector and certainly worth reviewing in 2025.

To find out more about compliance, last year, Peter Haddock visited the United Plant Services HQ in Cannock and met with its guru Lyndset Allison.

They talked through its approach next to one of its five dedicated compliance vans, kitted out for its compliance engineering team.

Lyndsey: "We work with lots of different customers who have specific needs when it comes to looking after their fleet.

"Those in the quarrying and waste sectors, in particular, have stringent processes where we attend a site every 12 weeks to make sure equipment meets legal and safety requirements.

"This involves things like break tests, 360 degree vision tests and ensuring access and egress points are in full working order.

"We also check lighting and look for any damage around the machine, including key areas like windscreens.

"If we pick up anything that needs addressing, we can immediately take the appropriate action and organise maintenance or repairs. We also log things like minor damage that can be addressed at a machine's future regular service interval.

"And with common parts like mirrors that get damaged, our engineers will have replacements in the van.

"When you visit a machine on a regular basis, you can also look for trending data on excessive brake wear, for example, which changes in site conditions may cause.

"It's really all about ensuring people are safe, operators are supported, and in turn, making sure equipment uptime levels are kept high."