03.04.2024

No charge for Harness On

In the UK, Nationwide Platforms has confirmed that it will no longer charge its customers to have the 'Harness On' device installed on the machines it supplies, as it continues to roll out the accessory across its fleet.
Nationwide began installing Harness On last May, with Haulotte introducing its own - more advanced system - ‘Fastn’ - the following month and more recently Niftylift added its ‘ClipOn’ device. In November last year UK contractor, Willmott Dixon mandated the system across its sites, while Loxam introduced the concept to its operations in Spain last month.

Chief executive Paul Rankin said: “We drive and change safety in the market. It is a major part of our value proposition. When adding value, you have to do something different, and we have chosen safety as that differentiator. But it’s more important than that: This technology is essential to improve workplace safety. Falls from height are the largest cause of accidents, so we wanted to ensure that we developed a solution that we could openly share with our competitors and OEM’s, with no Loxam branding.”

“From a market perspective, such a move demonstrates how Nationwide Platforms separates itself from other companies, especially in light of rising inflation as well as other economic pressures in Europe. If we only sold in price, then we wouldn’t be here. Our motto at Nationwide Platforms is, ‘Your Safety, our priority’, and with this new initiative we’re ensuring that neither cost nor competition are barriers to customer safety.”

Nationwide says that the Harness On device was a collaborative effort with platform manufacturer Dingli, and aviation specialist and development partner Control Dynamics, with support from the contractor Balfour Beatty, which both endorsed the device and conducted trials on some of its major projects.

Vertikal Comment

This is an interesting one in that far more construction sites in the UK are likely to demand that these devices are installed, and they are included in the rental rate. The problem is, it could take a couple of years - or more - for a sufficient sector of the national fleet to be equipped with a device, not to mention the costs involved.

It will, of course, put further pressure on Nationwide’s competitors to invest in these additional safety features, at a time when margins have been squeezed as competition has grown. Some canny players will have seen this coming and already adopted a strategy. Others will be caught out, unable perhaps to fund the installation across their entire fleets in a timely manner.

Is such a move better than the big players waging a direct pricing war against the smaller fish? It is certainly going to be interesting to watch and for some rental companies another hassle they have to deal with and could well do without.