SMALL

RENTAL

COMPANY

 

LARGE

RENTAL

COMPANY

 

RENTAL

PRODUCT

 

BEST

DIGITAL INNOVATION

 

ERA SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE

 

ERA TECH COMMITTEE

AWARD

AWARDS ENTRIES

 

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Small rental company of the year (<€15m revenues) 

 

Elavation Platforms (UK) 

UK access company Elavation Platforms and Training maintained a commitment to its customers and their businesses throughout the Covid-19 crisis, implementing measures to support high standards of customer service and deliveries throughout the period from early 2020 through 2021.

 

Since the pandemic broke out, along with its normal hire business, Elavation assisted customers with projects to fulfil delivery of supplies to the NHS Royal London and Nightingale Hospitals, with minimal staffing and minimal contact to maintain safety protocols.

 

Throughout the crisis, the company has continued to focus on enhancing customers’ experience of working with powered access and at height.

 

PSM Plant (UK) 

Independent company PSM Plant & Tool Hire was founded in 1985 and runs three depots, which, during the first year of the pandemic, it refitted, making them Covid-safe for customers and staff.

 

During that time, PSM also continued to invest in its fleet; in 2020 it added over 350 new items of plant/equipment, including tracked dumpers and GRP podium towers.  It also added new lines including roof valley walkers and post drivers.  A Hilti agent for several years, it continued to invest in Hilti tools, with recent additions including items from the new 22v range. Also added to its fleet were Kubota U27-4GL excavators.

 

PSM Plant is also committed to reducing its carbon footprint and has started replacing its fleet of Tower Lights with X-Eco LED Tower Lights which can reduce CO2 output by 888kg per month.

 

Noleggio Lorini (Italy)

During 2020 Noleggio Lorini successfully weathered the pandemic due to its solid foundations, along with stringent measures to protect both staff and customers.

 

The year saw record investments for the company in terms of fleet renewal and technology. Noleggio Lorini’s fleet grew by 15% while devices were also installed on all machines to optimise fleet management. Investments were also made in software development and a new website, as well as the use of devices to photographically document the condition of equipment to reduce damage claims from customers.

 

As well its investments in fleet and digital technology, Noleggio Lorini supported local initiatives through sponsorships and charity.

 

Vertex (Russia) 

In addition to supplying lifting equipment, Vertex also offers comprehensive solutions to cover all tasks related to working at height, including spare parts, upgrades to customers, as well as equipment and operation training.

 

During 2020, lifting Vertex continued trading and even increased investment in its rental fleet, with over 72 units added. The company also supplied lifting equipment to major construction projects across Russia and provided 40 % of its rental fleet free of charge to a range of construction facilities to combat Covid 19.

 

In 2020, Vertex also proactively worked to promote the switch to electric universal work platforms to Russian end-users.

 

 

Large rental company of the year (>€15 m revenues) 

 

Ardent Hire Solutions (UK) 

Ardent Hire Solutions implemented wide-ranging improvements for customers during the onset of the pandemic, through a digital transformation drive, entailing the establishment of the Ardent Digital Platform (ADP). ADP is designed to make end-to-end hire safer, more efficient, and sustainable for construction businesses.

 

Meanwhile, decisive actions supported Ardent’s 250 staff when Covid-19 hit. The Ardent team went on to record a utilisation record of 90%.

 

The company also launched an industry-first carbon-offsetting program to address CO2 emissions.

 

LoxamHune (Spain) 

Loxam Hune turned in a strong performance during 2020, despite the pandemic, in financial, safety and environmental terms, with a solid turnover due to its efforts to remain open and support customers and essential services during the pandemic.

 

LozamHune also implemented measures to protect employees, customers and suppliers, including extensive Covid testing, as well as upgrading its ERP system and launching a new website.

 

Another highlight for the company is that it is the first of its kind in Spain to become climate neutral.

 

Sunbelt Rentals (UK) 

Sunbelt dealt with the outbreak of Covid19 proactively with the provision of emergency response support to the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care for the NHS, providing more than 270,000 items of equipment for almost 500 Covid testing facilities and vaccine centres across the UK.

 

The company also launched its own mobile Covid lateral flow testing units to allow colleagues to get Covid tested on a drop in basis.

 

Meanwhile it continued to invest in its fleet, with emphasis on sustainable equipment and portable accommodation, while demonstrating its commitment to developing its people with significant investment in its apprenticeship program.

 

WeRent (Italy) 

Specialising in lifting and earthmoving machine rental, WeRent focused on its commitment to added value in terms of "safety at work", with ongoing investment in its fleet of machines and team of specialised technicians, part of its long-held focus on investment in people.

 

As part of this, the ITUS Academy is a permanent training school supported by WeRent company management, to meet the training needs of both internal staff and personnel from outside the organisation. The ITUS Academy has a team of in-house instructors and makes use of manufacturers’ expertise for technical training on operation and maintenance.

 

 

Rental product of the year 

 

GenQuip Groundhog – Unisex solar hybrid toilet 

GenQuip Groundhog’s Unisex Solar Hybrid Toilet is designed to reduce fuel costs, lower carbon emissions and bring down the need for frequent servicing.

 

It features a rainwater harvester that collects water for toilet flushing, but more significantly, with the increasing number of female workers on construction sites, the unit incorporates female facilities, making it suitable for both sexes.

 

Genquip-Groundhog intends the Unisex Solar Hybrid Toilet to set a new standard, delivering sustainable, cost‐effective and robust toilet facilities for both the construction and event rental markets.

 

JCB – 525-60E Electric Loadall 

JCB’s 525-60E is a full electric version of the company’s popular Loadall and is designed to deliver the same performance as the conventional diesel-powered machine, offering a zero-emissions load handling solution for the rental industry.

 

Key features of the 525-60E Loadall include dual electric motors for drive and lift for increased efficiency, brake regeneration to boost battery charge, regenerative hydraulics, full shift operation capability and a range of charging options including onboard and rapid charging.

 

Niftylift - HR15NE electric boom 

The HeightRider 15 Narrow All-Electric (HR15NE) from Niftylift offers a 15.5 metre working height, with a working outreach of 9.7 metres from a 1.5 metre wide base that weighs just 7,250 kg.

 

The Niftylift - HR15NE electric boom features an advanced battery power system and all-electric drive, which offers extended duty-cycles equating to over four days of operation on a single charge.

 

It also features maintenance free AGM batters and non-marking tyres for quiet, clean, indoor operation, while its zero tail swing makes it suited for restricted spaces.

 

Nixon Hire – Solar Pod 

The Nixon Hire Solar Pod harvests the sun’s free energy to provide a sustainable power source for accommodation units.

 

It combines solar PV, battery storage, a backup generator and a 400 litre fuel tank in a self-contained unit.

 

The unit has a power output of 50-60kVA and can power up to five accommodation units.

 

It also boasts an auto-smart system, which means the free solar energy harvested is either used to directly power the unit or can be discharged into a lithium battery bank for storage if required while other key features include remote diagnostics.

 

Trime – X-Solar Hybrid LED lighting tower 

With demand set to increase for diesel-free equipment, Trime has launched the X-Solar Hybrid LED lighting tower, which is powered by a combination of solar energy, battery power, backed-up by an engine driven battery charging system.

 

For 95% of its operation the X-Solar Hybrid LED runs totally silent, and in normal use, uses minimal fuel per month. It will stay illuminated for 3000 hours on a single tank of fuel, compared to approximately 60 hours for a traditional unit.

 

A standard lighting tower emits approximately 1224kg of CO2 per month, whereas the X-Solar Hybrid LED exhausts around 36kg.

 

 

Best digital innovation 

 

Ardent Hire Solutions – Ardent digital platform 

Ardent Hire has implemented the Ardent Digital Platform (ADP) to give construction businesses fleet-hire-transparency.

 

For over 2,700+ current users, ADP’s benefits include: 60% reduction in idling, 98% reduction in driving at speed, 90% improvement in wearing seatbelts, plus a live fleet locator, delivery/collection tracker and LOLER compliance to streamline organisational workflow.

 

The Cloud-based system is designed to aid all staff from head office through to equipment operator and comprises two applications: back-office admin/management live portal InSite and on site management portal SiteManager.

 

 

Mollo Noleggio - Rental document digitalisation 

In recent years, Mollo Noleggio has digitised its processes through investment in a range of new technologies.

 

These include ERP software, a new web portal to digitise the company’s production processes, a customer service portal, and a set of web apps able to integrate and track the rental chain from client requests to rental management and redelivery of the vehicle.

 

The company also created an internal portal (intranet) to collect all applications external to the ERP and necessary to rental management.

 

Meanwhile another set of web apps offers digitised training courses on the issuance of licenses and certifications.

 

Spartan Solutions – PROPHES predictive analytics 

Spartan has launched Software as a Service (SaaS) solution PROPHES, a predictive analytics platform for the European equipment rental market.

 

PROPHES allows companies to monitor real-time telematics and operations data, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms to automate service, logistics and customer service processes.

 

The cloud-based solution blends real-time operations data with equipment telematics to build a Digital Twin of each item of plant and equipment under surveillance, and supports a range of telematics capabilities.

 

Sunbelt Rentals - Sunfest virtual festival 

Sunbelt broke new ground with a virtual trade show, Sunfest, from 20 August to 20 September 2020.

Sunfest comprised a virtual world incorporated within the Sunbelt Rentals UK website. On entering, users could navigate their way around a fully interactive site including 10 exhibition zones and a main stage area for Hot Topic talks.

 

The original aim was to attract 16 suppliers to exhibit at the event; ultimately Sunbelt attracted 45 of its supply chain partners including JCB, Wacker Neuson and JLG, both in virtual exhibition stands as well as ‘Hot Topic’ talks. The event attracted over 9,500 visitors, and a UK visitor number record for a rental exhibition. It also secured more than 1000 views of its Hot Topic films.

 

Trackunit – Trackunit Kin for non-powered assets 

Trackunit launched Trackunit Kin to enable connectivity and tracking of non-powered construction site assets.

 

The new tag leverages and extends Trackunit’s globally available mesh network, which previously offered the construction industry’s largest network of trackable devices.

 

By tagging assets, rental companies can connect all their equipment in the same app and fleet management system, empowering the location of assets both on and off site.

 

Trackunit Kin is compliant with the latest Bluetooth 5.2 standard.

 

Zeppelin Rental - customer eProcurement interface  

Zeppelin Rental’s customer interface allows customers to integrate the assets of Zeppelin Rental directly into their own fleet management system.

 

This enables the customer to see the Zeppelin Rental fleet in its fleet management system and integrate it directly into its scheduling, supporting efficient site set-up, fleet management and associated scheduling on the customer side.

 

A direct connection between the Zeppelin rental fleet and the customer's ERP or fleet management system provides an overview of the entire Zeppelin Rental fleet, along with relevant information such as availability, accessories, parts lists or supplementary products.

 

 

ERA Sustainability Committee Award: Best Safety Innovation 

(Judged by ERA’s Sustainability Committee) 

 

Ardent Hire 

Ardent Hire’s SiteManager Digital Platform is being used by more than 1,693 construction site workers who have seen safety gains in areas including improved seatbelt wearing and reduced driving at speed.

 

The cloud-based system comprises a Portal, Risk-Alert facility and Analytics Reporter, Assistant and Apps, which combine to enhance fleet knowledge and control, through safety breach alerts, familiarisation videos, LOLER compliance, GPS fleet tracking and usage inefficiencies.

 

Kiloutou 

Kiloutou has confronted a major cause of injury in the construction industry; the collision between a machine and a pedestrian is the second most common cause of accidents and the first most common cause of death.

 

Kiloutou’s solution consists of three elements: a collision prevention system for incidents between a machine and a pedestrian; a lidar (light detection and ranging system) that allows the creation of virtual delimitation of a danger zone to prevent intrusions; and an exoskeleton to protect workers against Musculoskeletal disorders of the shoulders.

 

Wacker Neuson 

Wacker Neuson has launched a cable free internal vibrator for processing and strengthening concrete on construction sites. The unit features a replaceable battery in a converter backpack, which allows the operator to carry the power source while working.

 

This eliminates the need for power cables that create a trip hazard and removes risk created by power cables in wet concrete.

 

Other benefits are greater freedom of movement and operator comfort.

 

The system also creates zero exhaust emissions for operator health and safety, as well as low noise emissions.

 

ERA Technical Committee Award 

(Judged by ERA’s Technical Committee) 

This award was given to the OEM who has done the most, according to the Committee, to meet the needs of ‎the rental industry in terms of digitalisation. Three manufacturers were shortlisted for the award‎, and the winner will be announced at the awards ceremony.‎

• Genie 

• JCB 

• Manitou