UK: Prolec Develops New PME Platform Concept

Safety systems and machine productivity specialist Prolec has set the date for the biggest and most significant product launch in the company’s history. The first product models from an entirely new modular range focused on machine safety will be unveiled at an event being staged at Donington Park Raceway on 9th May 2012.

At the heart of the new system is an innovative, patented new platform concept called the Prolec Machine Engine (PME). This technology can control a vast range of equipment types by deploying sophisticated modelling strategies to precisely determine machine positioning.

Within the Prolec Machine Engine platform, which sits at the heart of the new Prolec Safety Controller, core software processes sensor data to model exact positional references. This real time machine position allows safer operation across an array of equipment functions including lifting safety, height and slew control, overturning protection, reach control and cab protection.

A simple but effective solution such as this has long been the goal of the safety and machine control community. Many existing solutions address only one application or task. In contrast, PME processes specific machine data to produce generic metrics, regardless of the task required for the machine, thereby permitting far greater freedom in installation and machine operation.

Beyond its inherent flexibility and simple installation that de-skills a traditionally costly procedure, the PME platform concept also facilitates easy upgrades – a value-added bonus greatly assisted by the system’s highly modular architecture. Now, machine owners and operators need only specify the safety & control performance they need today, in complete confidence that extra functionality can be easy added later as workloads or operating environments demand.

The Prolec Safety Controller, complete with its innovative PME core, can be installed on virtually any piece of construction plant to instantly deliver access to a range of safety solutions. When combined with Prolec’s all-new intelligent operator interface– a smart, rugged and unambiguous touch-screen module featuring outstanding resolution – the systems that can be deployed are almost unlimited. This is the cornerstone of the PME concept. At the product launch in May, Prolec will focus on the safety field, in particular offering elegant replacement solutions to its legendary Liftwatch series of rated capacity indicators. The PME roadmap shows deployment across the full suite of Prolec safety solutions throughout the rest of 2012. Critically, all incarnations of the PME product are being developed with OEM fitment in mind, as well as simple after-market installation options.

Gary Tuffy, Sales &Marketing Director at Prolec, is excited about the new product and the broader range of applications it will address: “PME and its safety controller are generic in application. It’s a first for Prolec as we have traditionally been strong in control and safety for excavators. Now we can target a much wider range of applications for customers using construction plant such as cranes, truck mounted cranes, forklifts and telescopic handlers; excavators and backhoes; ADT and wheeled loader weighing; straddle cranes; scrap handlers; mowers and flails,” he claims, adding: “In fact, pretty much any construction equipment that moves, lifts or shifts!”

Tuffy promises that users of Prolec’s new PME-based product range will enjoy a richer experience with enhanced interfaces, faster processors, clearer graphical displays plus simpler installation, faster turnaround and better reliability – even than Prolec’s highly-regarded and robust existing solutions.

[mappress]

Dredging Today Staff, April 24, 2012; Image: prolec