CESAR ECV first for Sunbelt Rentals UK

Plant hire firm adopts Emissions Compliance Verification scheme across existing fleet 

TWO years ago, at Plantworx 2019, the Construction Equipment Association (CEA) announced the launch of its biggest evolution of the CESAR security marking scheme to date; the addition of Emissions Compliance Verification (ECV).

Now, Sunbelt Rentals UK have become the first plant hire company to upgrade their existing fleet with the CESAR ECV scheme.

CESAR ECV takes a machine’s engine emission standard from the engine’s EU Type Approval number and displays it on a simple-to-read colour-coded plate, providing a quick and easy reference point for machines working on sites where there is a requirement to comply with non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) emission regulations.

The CESAR ECV system combines the technology behind the security marking scheme with an additional colour-coded plate showing the engine emission stage from Stage II through to Stage V.

All the information about the machine is then collated on a comprehensive, secure database accessible through a new ECV clearing portal. This information allows plant owners and operators, contractors and site managers to comply with any local policy or contractual obligation in place regarding machinery emissions levels.

Thanks to the success of the CESAR security scheme, a large quantity of machinery already has CESAR fitted and can be upgraded to the new ECV system by an authorized CESAR dealer. 

Sunbelt Rentals UK are the first plant hire company in the UK to adopt an ECV upgrade programme across their fleet. The company has placed 2021/2022 orders to the value of £55 million for Stage V equipment spanning excavators, site dumpers, telehandlers, compressors and rollers.

Tom Welland, Sunbelt Rentals business development director for HS2, said that as part of the HS2 supply chain the company had recognized the need to report, easily, its plant NRMM data, but with no universal recognition scheme for NRMMs, it had been using a manual process to identify and ensure the correct policy was enforced.

‘With a clear need for a simple system that could cut down on confusion, wrong deliveries, wasted time and money, as well as the risk of non-compliant plant being used, the CESAR ECV scheme, created in partnership with the CEA, seemed the logical scheme to get behind and support,’ said Mr Welland.

He added: ‘This retrofit of our existing fleet will not only benefit our HS2 customers, but will also allow us to ensure we have the most compliant fleet of plant when working in all major cities within the UK, and will form part of our wider sustainability strategy.’

As the UK emerges from the pandemic and local authorities across the country embrace the ‘Build Back Better’ philosophy, ECV will be a simple but powerful tool to allow plant suppliers and manufacturers to play their part and ensure that only the cleanest machines work on the most environmentally sensitive sites.

Since its launch, JCB, Hitachi, Finning Cat and SMT Volvo have been among the leading OEMs and machinery dealers to adopt the CESAR ECV scheme as standard across a range of new machinery.

David Roberts, chief executive officer of Hitachi Construction Machinery (UK), said: ‘Helping our customers protect and optimize their Hitachi machines is an increasingly important element of our value proposition.

‘CESAR is not only a proven theft deterrent; the addition of the Emissions Compliance Verification gives our machines a visible and traceable identity in regard to which emission stage they comply with.’

Rob Oliver, chief executive of the CEA, commented: ‘Air quality and the environmental impact of construction machines is one of the dominant themes in our work at the CEA.

‘CESAR ECV has really taken off from small beginnings, as shown by our partnerships with leading OEMS, HS2 and Balfour Beatty. I see CESAR as the ‘go to resource’ for checking machine provenance and compliance for a range of applications in the future.’