Following recent ITV news headlines, highlighting the industry dangers involved in cleaning cement mixers, Hopkins Concrete is trying to raise awareness of its G3 Ready Jet machine.
ITV news reported that a man from County Durham became trapped inside of a cement mixer while cleaning it and had to be cut out by rescue workers, an issue that using the Hopkins Ready Jet machine would avoid.
The G3 Ready Jet machine is a waterjet drum-cleaning system for truck mixers, which not only means cleaning can be operated externally without having to climb inside the drum, but also prevents exposure to carcinogen.
Nathan Hopkins, Director of Hopkins, says: “It’s really worrying to hear about accidents like this because they are so easily preventable. We wanted to offer our own employees a safer environment in which to work and Ready Jet is the perfect solution.
“All of the health and safety risks to individuals are removed and I’m really pleased to be able to champion safety within our industry – we encourage other businesses to do the same.”
The most common and traditional method of clearing residual concrete build-up from a mixer truck, involves operators physically climbing inside the drum, armed with a jackhammer in order to chip away and loosen the set concrete.
In contrast, the G3 is run by remote control and works by removing hardened concrete from inside the truck mixer drum via robotic water blasting technology without compromising the integrity of the mixer drum or blades.
As well as preventing accidents like this, there are several other notable features of the Ready Jet System, such as significantly eliminating exposure to silica dust.
Chipping away at the concrete by traditional means exposes the operator to silica dust, a known carcinogen. Occupational exposure to silica dust over a period of years can result in Silicosis, a form of lung disease.
In 2015, Hopkins Concrete, negotiated sole distributor rights to market the G3 Ready Jet machine in the UK and since then have been promoting its safety features in order to try and prevent accidents like this happening.
Hopkins has recently been joined by Morris & Perry, another well-established concrete and aggregate supplier in the South West when they purchased one of the systems.
About Hopkins Concrete
Family run and owned Hopkins Concrete has been successfully specialising in concrete, aggregates and other complementary services for the past 40 years.
The company’s head office is located in Wincanton with another state-of-the-art plant located in Bridgwater and services are offered across Somerset, Devon, Wiltshire, Dorset and parts of Hampshire.
Features at a Glance
• No human entry to the mixer drum is necessary
• Clean drinking water used, no chemicals or additives
• High efficiency (cleaning 4-6 drums per day)
• Universal use for all mixer drum types
For further information on Hopkins Concrete’s G3 Ready Jet machine click here.
