Wednesday 2 September 2015

Stay Fully Compliant with new London Low Emission regs with M O'Brien Plant Hire

Make sure your site meets the new London Low Emission Zone Scheme with Plant from M.O'Brien Plant Hire !



"Construction site managers throughout London must now retrofit or replace old construction plant to help clean up the capital’s air.

The Low Emission Zone for construction machinery is the first step in cleaning up air quality ahead of the next stage – the Ultra-Low Emission Zone in central London from 2020.
Under the new rules, all construction sites in the centre of London and sites building more than ten homes or larger than 1,000 square feet in Greater London will have to replace or retrofit 10-year-old plant."

M O'Brien is Commited to helping our customers comply with these regulations and do their part for lowering emmisions in the capital. With a constantly renewing and growing Plant Fleet we are happy to say that over 60% of our fleet meets Tier 3B and above. For specialist equipment or any items of plant with Tier 3A standards we can retro fit Diesel Particulate filters (DPF) to bring them in line with Tier 3B compliance. 


For Clarification of the standards now expected of Site's in London please see the below extract.

From the 1st September 2015
  1. Major Development Sites within Greater London NRMM used on the site of any major development within Greater London will be required to meet Stage IIIA of EU Directive 97/68/EC
  2. Any development site within the Central Activity Zone or Canary Wharf NRMM used on any site within the Central Activity Zone or Canary Wharf will be required to meet Stage IIIB of EU Directive 97/68/EC
1st September 2020
  1. Any development site within Greater London NRMM used on any site within Greater London will be required to meet Stage IIIB of EU Directive 97/68/EC
  2. Any development site within the Central Activity Zone or Canary Wharf NRMM used on any site within the Central Activity Zone or Canary Wharf will be required to meet Stage IV of EU Directive 97/68/EC

Tuesday 14 July 2015

Innovation week

Over the Past 10 Days we have been showcasing our latest innovations for safety and productivity. Interested personnel from companies such as Balfour Beatty, Skanska, Costain, Carillion, Volker Fitzpatrick and Bam Nuttalls were invited to our St Albans Depot to view and give feedback on our latest innovations. 



Over the course of the week we were showing off features such as;
  • All round vision cameras including proximity detection up to 5 meters.
  • Remote Hydraulic cut off for excavators, allowing a banksman or supervisor to safely stop the machine and attract the drivers attention from a distance or stop an unsafe ocurrance. 
  • Keyless starting of machines, incorporating a 5 digit pin code to safely authorise access. 
  • Live sync Safe load indicators that give a constantly variable and up to date hook load based on the position of the machine. This prevents the machine from being overloaded and dramatically reduces the chances of a fall over due to incorrect lifing procedure.
  • QR code reading on each machine to obtain certificates and associated documentation for that item of plant.
  • Quick Hitch alarms, Audible and visual.
  • Triple machine isolation; Deadman handle, Seatbelt cut off, and a third switch. This will reduce unintentional operation of the controls. For the Hydraulics to be live the operator must first have the seatbelt on, the deadman handle up, and press a final button to acknowledge activation of the hydraulics.
We Also had on display some of the newest additions to our fleet including;

Hitachi ZX140W -5, Wheeled Tier 3B excavator with chapter 8 signage

Hitachi ZX225-5, 25 tonne Zero tail swing Tier 3B excavator
Hitachi ZX135-5. 15 tonne Zero tail swing Tier 3B Excavator
Case 210C, 21 Tonne Tier 3B excavator
Case 300C, 30 Tonne Tier 3B excavator
Hyundai 140R, 14 Tonne Tier 3B excavator with Keyless Start
JCB 85Z, 8 tonne Zero tail swing excavator
Hydrema 912 E, 12 Tonne Swivel tip Dumptrucks
Hitachi ZX350-5 Chameleon, 28 Meter shaft digging telescopic excavator
Hitachi ZX210-5 Chameleon, 22 Meter shaft digging telescopic excavator



For More information on our newest safety innovations, or if you would like to arrange a visit to see how some of these features work, do not hesitate to contact us.







Tuesday 14 April 2015

M O'Brien Plant HIre expands Haulage fleet with 2 brand new Beavertail lorries.


M O'Brien is a company commited to provide the highest level of service to its customers and to continually improve the image of the construction industry. 

We have invested in two brand new Beavertail Plant lorries to run out of our St Albans depot. The lorries will run above Cross rail spec and will have the following features;

Rear view camera
Blind Side view camera
Blind side, side scanners with audible driver alarm (to detect cyclists and pedestrians) 
Audible warning for left indicator
Rear and Side underrun bars
Chapter 8 signage and strobing beacons for visibility
Full Edge protection (not shown in picture) 


We have opted to run this specification of lorry for many reasons, with this lorry we can move up to 18 tonne excavators safely and legally. Unlike many types of vehicle that have lower capacities. 

We will use these lorrys to deliver our own plant and also to move customer machinery.
For more information plese contact us on 01582 840045



Special Projects London Bridge


Over the winter months M O'Brien Plant Hire has been working closely with Costain on their network rail London Bridge project. We played our part in the laying of new track during some tight closure times. 

5 Brand new Hitachi 135 dash 5 tier 3b excavators were delivered to the site and were piloted by a carefully chosen team from our top class of operators. 
The machinery was lifted in front of the iconic London Shard and down to track level where work would commence to replace the track.


The rail was lifted in sequence using our special universal lifting beams for maximum control and accuracy, making the operation as safe as possible. Our low emission Tier 3B machinery made the work easy and kept the air clean with personnel working in close proximity.

For more information about our special projects approach please contact us on 
01582 840045