For its contract to excavate two tunnels in the El Teniente mine in Chile, VINCI Construction Grands Projets has fitted some fifty vehicles with the Blaxtair intelligent camera from Arcure, in order to minimise the risk of collisions between the machines and pedestrian operators on the worksites. In the context of tunnel excavation, the collaboration between machines and men on the ground coupled with the cramped conditions and low light levels inside the tunnel increase the risk of accidents considerably. Placing the safety of its employees on site at the top of its priorities, VINCI Construction Grands Projets wanted to select a reliable detection system to reduce these risks.

Blaxtair is an intelligent onboard camera which detects pedestrians, helps avoid collisions between moving machines and operators on the worksite. VINCI Construction Grands Projets wanted first of all to test the system by fitting the Blaxtair camera to two machines it was using in the Lee Tunnel project in London. Having tested its performance and confirmed the usefulness of specific detection of pedestrians, VINCI Construction Grands Projets decided to install Blaxtair on all its machines on the El Teniente site in Chile: “Blaxtair not only offers the same functions as a reversing camera coupled with an obstacle detection radar, but above it specifically detects pedestrians. The system is a great help to the driver in detecting pedestrians and obstacles and thus reduces the risks of accidents”, notes Marc Bohin, Equipment Manager of VINCI Construction Grands Projets. In all, more than 50 vehicles on the El Teniente site have been fitted with the device since the start of 2012, including hydraulic diggers, dumpers, loaders, forklift trucks and mixers.