Playing the Safe Bet

A key aspect of fleet management in the waste industry centers around safety. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, garbage collection is the fifth most dangerous job, averaging 90 deaths per 100,000 annually. As technology evolves, it assists drivers in safe operations and procedures. 

While deaths are often the result of impatient drivers who hit trash collectors, there are other work-related injuries, such as sprains and strains caused by hopping onto and down from the trucks and by handling heavy loads, respectively. The Solid Waste Association of North American also notes that exposure to dangerous materials poses a threat to workers’ safety. 

Safe Practices 

OSHA has not implemented any industry-specific regulations, but the American National Standards Institute published safety procedures in Safety Standards for Mobile Refuse Collection and Compaction Equipment. Their recommendations include riding in the cab. Workers may stand on riding steps outside the cab, but not when the vehicle is reversing or traveling faster than 10 mph. No one should ride on the loading sills or in the hopper, and everyone should remain in place until the vehicle comes to a complete stop. 

Each year, thousands of commercial vehicles are involved in preventable accidents. While dashcams have been around since the 1960s, their benefits go only as far as providing evidence. Telematics solutions do more than simply record and assess the damage after an incident.  

To assist operators, Zonar offers technology that provides in-cab driver coaching. Installed in minutes, this technology uses AI and a G-force accelerometer to detect unsafe behaviors of operators, including distracted driving, fatigue, droopy eyes, speed limit variances, tailgating, rolling through stop signs, lane drifting, cornering too hard, hard acceleration, and hard braking. 

“Zonar Coach leverages the power of the Internet of Things to capture real-time data with immediate feedback to the driver and instant connectivity with fleet and equipment managers,” states Fred Fakkema, vice president of safety and compliance. It provides in-cab audible violation alerts so operators can take corrective action when necessary. “This intelligent behavior assessment technology is critical in mitigating road accidents, keeping operators and other motorists safe. Technology can’t prevent every accident, but utilizing a proactive and connected technology like Coach can save lives and money.” 

In addition to those warnings, the technology provides in-cab event-based application, letting drivers see how an individual trip score compares with the fleet average. Operators can review their scores over specific periods, such as the last trip, the current day, or the previous week or month. In addition, if an incident occurs, video evidence is available in 15-second increments, and the vehicle can be viewed on a map to see when and where the incident occurred. There is also a "challenge" feature to exonerate drivers with safe driving behavior. 

On the back end, Fakkema says IoT connectivity allows safety administrators to review driver trips, incident footage, and mapped locations of incidents. “They can also watch operator and road-facing footage simultaneously with side-by-side and picture-in-picture viewing options.” Coach produces on-demand incident footage if accidents happen and detailed KPIs in real-time, including individual trip scorecards, driver rankings, average score, and incident count. 

Autocar Truck offers its Advanced Driver Assist System for refuse trucks. Tim Thornton, vice president and general manager, refuse, says ADAS technology will “set a new standard for safety for drivers, customers, and communities.” 

Top safety features include: 

• Advanced emergency braking systems 
• Forward collision warning 
• Stationary lane-departure warning  
• Blind spot detection  

Visibility 

Collection vehicles and their operators face numerous safety hazards on their routes. Pedestrians may bypass a waste truck in the operator’s blind spot. Other drivers may pass a truck without realizing the collection truck could veer into their path as it maneuvers around parked cars or other objects. 

Enhanced visibility diminishes the number of accidents and incidents in trash collection. In addition to mirrors on both sides of the vehicle, rearview cameras and other technology contribute to improved safety. 

Jeff Geoffroy, director of marketing and business development for Peterson Lighting and Harness Systems, offers advice: add work lights all around the vehicles so operators can see if the area is clear. “Headlights and side lighting can be blocked by bins, so lighting mounted high on the vehicle and [pointing] down is becoming more of a standard instead of an after-market add-on.” 

Larger windows and wrap-around rear and side glass expand the driver’s view. Mack LR cabs offer both, according to Josh Seiferth, Mack refuse product manager, who says door peep windows also reduce blind spots on the side of the vehicles.   

Right-hand drive vehicles give operators greater visibility on the curbside. “This allows operators to more easily collect refuse, while also allowing them to see any external objects or persons during regular collections,” Seiferth explains.  

Dual-drive options allow right-hand visibility during collection and permit operators to drive from the more familiar left-hand side when traveling between collection sites, transfer stations, landfill, or home bases. “Visibility is key for operators to keep them, their vehicle, other vehicles, property, cyclists, and pedestrians safe,” Seiferth concludes. 

That’s why Mack is developing features such as blind spot, forward, and rear object detection (of property, cyclists, vehicles, and pedestrians) for cab-over refuse trucks. Additional technology already on their conventional range of trucks or adapted from the automotive industry is being introduced in the refuse collections market; innovations like anti-lock braking, traction control, and driver-facing cameras have been added to collection vehicles in recent years. “Vulnerable Road User detection and mitigation significantly enhance visibility and the ability for operators to keep themselves and those around them safe,” Seiferth says.  

On the Side 

Automated side-loaders have been proven to boost safety by limiting workers’ exposures to dangers outside the truck and strain resulting from lifting heavy containers. “We’ve seen increased interest in our Sidewinder & ROTO PAC automated side loaders,” acknowledges Nick Daniel, sales engineer at New Way Trucks. He believes the pandemic and its direct impact on higher residential waste volumes have brought automated refuse collection to the forefront of fleet managers’ minds.  

The main safety benefit of automated refuse collection vehicles is that the vehicle’s operator stays inside the climate-controlled cab of the truck, which, among many other benefits, prolongs the careers of an aging workforce while also mitigating the risks posed when riding on or working behind a rear-loader, Daniel continues.  

Automated collection vehicles have another important benefit: automation reduces contact with the wastestream to nearly zero. Coupled with a single-vehicle operator and the speed at which they collect solid waste, Daniel says the benefits of ASLs include control of the spread of disease and illness. 

Driver Assistance 

One safety angle in the refuse collection industry involves ergonomics. Low-entry vehicles have been around for a while. The Mack LR has a low 17” step height—one of the lowest in the industry, Seiferth says. It enables operators to enter and exit the vehicle with fewer steps, which reduces fatigue and the likelihood of trips or falls on the many entries and exits drivers make in and out of the vehicle each day. 

Integrated systems that actively employ the brakes on the vehicle when an object is detected add an element of safety beyond detection and alerts. “Stability control and roll-over control make these very heavy vehicles less likely to become out of control,” Seiferth notes. He says automated braking, roll-away prevention braking, and lane-keeping (active steering) are being developed so that refuse collection vehicles can be "smarter" and assist operators with safe operation. 

Ol’ Reliable 

Some of the most dependable safety features aren’t new. Backup cameras, the rear camera, and in-cab monitor are robust and time-tested concepts that have “helped take the solid waste and recycling industries out of the top five most dangerous industries in the US,” Daniel says. 

Along those lines, Geoffroy points to multi-function rear strobe lights that double as turn signals. This arrangement also reduces costs, thanks to fewer parts and less complexity. Peterson Manufacturing has patented lights in this space, he mentions. 

ABS brakes are another safety standard that have been used for many years. “[They’re] important in preventing brakes from locking up,” Thornton explains. By reducing the braking force, they help prevent understeer during emergency braking. 

And, while it isn’t necessarily a safety system as much as it is a nationwide campaign, Daniel credits various “Slow Down to Get Around” campaigns around the country with informing the public about the importance of taking precautions while navigating near refuse trucks on their routes, resulting in safer working conditions for haulers. 

Making Way for New Technology 

Thornton already mentioned Autocar Truck’s Advanced Driver Assistance technology. Although the automotive industry has successfully used similar technology for several years, its use has proven to be a serious challenge in the refuse industry and other specialized markets, but he says extensive testing under various circumstances, including road, traffic, and weather conditions, has proven functionality, reliability, and increased safety over the range of its axle configurations, shifting centers of gravity, and different weight ratings. “Autocar has ensured that the ADAS hardware can withstand recycling and refuse collection conditions.” 

Cameras, backup radar, and safety interlocks are examples of new technology found on New Way Trucks. A scale weighing system makes sure vehicle operators are hauling legal payload and staying within manufacturer-designed parameters for axles, brakes, and suspension, Daniel indicates, adding, “It makes the road a safer place to share with my family and yours.” 

Merging current technologies is becoming more and more popular. For example, adding LED lights requires a circuit board to power the diodes, and Geoffroy says lighting manufacturers are starting to add intelligence to all lights. “The newest synchronized strobe lights don’t require an external strobe controller.” That reduces cost and complexity, and requires fewer parts during assembly and repair operations. 

The evolution of technology to address customer concerns is also a staple of the industry. After speaking with waste industry leaders about an uptick in side-turn incidents, Reyna Clow, marketing content coordinator for PRECO Electronics, a Sensata Technologies Company, says the PreView Side Defender II system, a 360-degree radar system originally designed to protect and identify vulnerable road users including pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vehicles in crowded urban environments, is “nothing short of a game-changer for right-hand-drive ASL waste trucks,” adding, “I believe the Side Defender II is the right solution to help waste companies avoid future left-side blind spot collisions.”