A 360° camera monitoring system has been fitted to the sweeper fleet of Leicestershire-based AE Faulks.

The plant hire and waste management company working with both the construction industry and the general public in the East Midlands, has retro-fitted a Brigade Electronics' system to 10 sweepers.

The company says its biggest safety concern where sweepers are operating is the risk of collision with people, especially in confined spaces and near road works.

To reduce the risk, a driver needs to be able to see all the vehicles blind spots. Brigade's Backeye®360 Select is an intelligent camera monitor system that provides a birds-eye view of a vehicle in real-time on a single image on the driver's monitor.

Four ultra wide angle cameras each cover one full side of the vehicle with a viewing angle of 180°. High mounted on the front, rear and sides, the calibrated cameras capture all of the surrounding area eliminating the blind spots.

A spokesman for AE Faulks said: 'We were the first to fit Brigade's radar system to our sweepers and it was welcomed in the industry but we wanted to keep ahead of the game. We trialled a competitors camera monitoring system but Brigade's product was better quality and had the clearest picture.'

In addition, Faulks has added Brigade's MDR-304 mobile digital recording system to record the Backeye 360 footage. The mobile digital recorder captures up to 780 hours of real-time footage and the lockable hard drive is easily removed and connected to a PC or laptop for data download. The system is used for preventing false insurance claims and also monitoring drivers to help with best practice.

The spokesman said: 'The recording makes drivers more aware. It makes them stop and think. It has definitely changed their driving behaviour for the better.'