A trial that breathalyses visitors at Volvo Construction Equipment’s Customer Centrer in Eskilstuna, Sweden before they can operate machines has proven so popular, even among those tested, that the safety measure is set to be rolled out globally.
Each year over 25,000 people visit the centre (most arriving by bus), and approximately half of those operate the wide range of Volvo equipment available in the test yard. The new initiative ensures all visitors understand the importance of safely operating the machines, as well as guaranteeing that they are in the best shape to operate the big, heavy and often fast moving equipment.
“We want everyone who comes to the Customer Centre to enjoy themselves,” says Carl Gindahl, the company’s customer centre and events manager.
“But we also have an obligation to make sure everyone who visits us remains safe. As it is, we have operators with differing levels of skill and experience, and that brings enough challenges as it is, so needing them to be sober is a basic requirement. Thankfully we have never had an alcohol-related incident, or accident of any kind, in fact, but only preventative measures will ensure it stays that way.
“To be professional we decided that we had to have a fixed limit. So we are using the same equipment used by the Swedish police and also the same safe road driving limit as used under Swedish law: 20mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. Which, incidentally, is one of the lowest in the world. The process is automatic: just blow into one of the disposable plastic tubes and the breathalyser does the rest.”
