SmartBar sets the standard

Fleet Management SmartBar sets the standard for site safety

WITH AN ARRAY OF LIGHT VEHICLES TRAVELLING ACROSS A MINE SITE ALL DAY, ENSURING PEDESTRIAN SAFETY IS CRUCIAL. AND WHEN IT COMES TO SAFETY, SMARTBAR IS IN A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN.

Australian born and bred, SmartBar has been making and designing its leading bull bar technology at its home in Adelaide since 1996.

And these bull bars are far from average, boasting an innovative, lightweight and resilient design that increases safety for the vehicle and, just as crucially, for pedestrians.

SmartBar bull bars are manufactured from flexible, durable polyethylene material, rather than metal, giving them the ability to absorb impact and then spring back to their original shape.

“The absorption of the impact makes our product a lot safer for pedestrians. Rather than hitting a solid object, our product absorbs some of the force in an impact,” SmartBar sales and development manager Kieran Jenkins said.

“It’s a rotationally moulded hollow section bar, so the material properties and the hollow nature of the product is what allows the bull bar to compress and absorb the impact.”

Each of the bull bars undergoes rigorous testing to ensure the quality and safety is above and beyond, covering compulsory and non-compulsory testing requirements of Australian Safety Standard AS4876.1-2002.

When the Centre of Automotive and Safety Research conducted tests to measure head trauma and accident survival probability of a person at certain speeds, a SmartBar bull bar outperformed all other frontal vehicle protection systems available.

In a simulated collision with a pedestrian at 30km/h, it was proven that in many cases a vehicle fitted with a SmartBar bull bar was less likely to cause a fatal injury through impact than the original front-vehicle assembly.

What sets a SmartBar bull bar apart is that it acts as an injury-prevention and cushioning device in a slow-speed collision, such as with a pedestrian, reducing the likelihood of serious injury.

Factors such as vehicle design, crush rate, airbag deployment, approach angles, accessory fitment, strength, weight and aesthetic are all taken into consideration during the development of every SmartBar bull bar.

“In terms of mining, the other benefits of our products are they’re lightweight so you can help to minimise the weight of the vehicle, and the polyethylene material is great for corrosion resistance as well,” Jenkins said.

SmartBar also offers rear protection, which is vital on a mine site, especially when manoeuvring in close confines.

The rear protection bar provides the same vehicle, occupant and pedestrian safety as the rest of the SmartBar range, and is manufactured from the same flexible, durable polyethylene material. It provides unparalleled levels of vehicle and occupant protection without compromising pedestrian safety.

“The rear protection bars have the same absorbing properties to again provide vehicle protection at the rear, and can be used as a step for access to roof racks,” Jenkins said.

“The under-vehicle armour is also lightweight and has great corrosion resistance, so that’s going to protect the car from rocks and impacts from underneath when you’re driving over uneven ground common on mine sites.”

The bull bars are also available in HiVis Orange for increased on-site safety, while rear protection bars are available in Hi-Vis Yellow.

“Pedestrian safety has been a big focus of ours right from the start, not only in mining but across all industries in general,” Jenkins said.

The bull bars are available in Hi-Vis Orange for increased on-site safety.