Hire and Rental News - February 2016

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EVENTS in FOCUS
New crowd barrier is fast and safer to set up
A new style of crowd control barrier, Veloz Barrier, that can be placed and picked up at
speeds at least twice as fast as any existing barrier, while using half the labour to do it
has been developed by Melbourne based CJC Projects.
By utilising a forklift to undertake all the lifting and movement of the Veloz
Barrier, the risk of workers falling off moving trucks is eliminated
Veloz Barrier is a system of CCB which utilises joining hinges so adjacent
barrier panels can fold upon themselves in a concertina fashion
According to Veloz Barrier’s (CJC
Projects’) Chris Clark, Veloz Barrier offers
all this and in an infinitely safer way.
CJC Projects works in the outdoor events
space, where it derives its inspiration to
design and develop solutions to some of
the time consuming and relatively unsafe
practices evident in this space, Chris said.
“Crowd Control Barrier (CCB) is a product
found at almost every outdoor event.
A line of CCB is formed by interlocking
individual panels using manual labour.
CCB panels are constructed of steel pipe
and generally measure overall between
2.0m to 2.5m wide by 1.1m high. They are
an unwieldy product and weigh between
15kg and 25kg each,” Chris said.
“Often, the placement of CCB involves
workers passing CCB panels off a moving
truck down to other workers who then
carry the panels to their location and
join them to the line. The pickup process
is the reverse of this. It is a slow and
cumbersome process, as well as being
unsafe for a number of reasons. Workers
moving about on the tray of a moving
truck, with loose panels onboard, is the
obvious one, but the tiring process can
cause fatigue with workers, leading to
sprain and strain injuries.
“Current styles of CCB are often
transported double stacked in packs of 10
barriers. These must, due to their design,
be stacked in an offset manner leading
to an unstable stack, thereby creating
further injury potential for both the public
and the workers,” Chris said.
“Veloz Barrier is a system of CCB which
has a similar look to the current style
CCB, but which utilises joining hinges
so adjacent barrier panels can fold upon
themselves in a concertina fashion. The
system is designed to utilise a forklift to
pick up stanchions (as part of the system)
at regular intervals, thereby doing all the
heavy lifting, including running the CCB
out and picking it up. This alleviates the
safety issues of manually handling heavy
panels, while allowing for a much quicker
process. The barrier cannot fall off the
forklift, due to a purpose designed slot
within the design of the stanchions.
“This system does not require any
workers to be on a moving truck. All the
panels are stacked safely in stillages for
transport and storage, alleviating other
problems evident with the stacking
alternative CCB.
“By utilising a forklift to undertake all the
lifting and movement of the Veloz Barrier,
the risk of workers falling off moving
trucks is eliminated. Also, the practice of
manually passing hundreds of individual
panels on and off the truck, is removed,”
he said.
“Furthering the safety claims of the
product, often extra weights (concrete
weights designed for temporary fence
panels, not CCB) are placed over the
metal feet of the standard CCB to
provide some extra stability to a line of
CCB in windy conditions, which is an
acknowledgement of its instability. Veloz
Barrier has this extra weight built into the
system, thereby alleviating the need for
extra manual handling of heavy items.
“Veloz Barrier is now available to the
Victorian market. The first commercial
quantity has been manufactured and
delivered to the Victorian agent.
“Its development has taken over three
years and many prototypes were
developed. The initial period of use of the
Veloz Barrier in public events will assist
in further fine tuning the product, prior to
roll out across Australia and overseas.
“CJC Projects has a world-wide patent
for this product because the company
recognised CCB is used at every major
outdoor event throughout the world and
it will address questions now being asked
of the existing alternatives.
“All infrastructure suppliers in this
sector generally need to supply a Job
Safety and Environmental Analysis
(JSEA) to the event manager for most
events. I have always been amazed
the CCB suppliers could be allowed to
supply this documented risk analysis,
yet have workers on the back of a stop/
start moving truck. These workers are
unharnessed and often without safety
footwear (nor head protection) and are
working around loose panels in limited
space, a metre off the ground.
With only a little more development, it is
likely this system will also be usable with
Temporary Fencing, addressing another
safety issue within the events industry,
and the building and development sector.
“Veloz Barrier has been in consideration
for over six years and development for
over three years. This will be a world-
wide product, recognised as being
developed here in Melbourne, Victoria.”
Contact: 0437 247 471 or visit: www.
20 HIRE AND RENTAL NEWS • FEBRUARY 2016