Automotive plant required a lightweight guarding system that was flexible - allowing maintenance and future modifications - while robust enough to offer a high degree of personnel safety.

The building which houses the T5 model platform for Land Rover's Discovery 3 and the Range Rover Sport contains 260 ABB robots and is 75% automated. The Manufacturing Engineering team at Land Rover required a guarding system that was lightweight and flexible (to facilitate maintenance and any future modifications) while still being robust enough to offer a high degree of safety for personnel. Bosch Rexroth's EcoSafe system meets the most stringent guarding legislation (EN292, 294 and 811) and for the Manufacturing Engineering teams' requirements, it meant that their system conformed to the Machinery Directive.

* Aluminium replaces steel - one of the major advantages of the EcoSafe protective barrier system is that it is made from aluminium and its anodised surfaces offer the clean finish preferred in modern manufacturing environments.

When compared with heavy, cumbersome and corrosion-prone 'traditional' steel guarding, the system has numerous benefits.

EcoSafe's modular, durable, bolt-together design eliminates the need for welding, painting, special tooling and skilled labour.

The bolted design allows for rapid assembly, disassembly and re-use.

In any business cost is a consideration and with the price of steel continuing to rise and the price of aluminium continuing to fall the differential between the two types of systems is narrowing considerably.

In terms of lifetime cost though there is no comparison, the lightweight, modular EcoSafe system is quick and easy to install and is also simple to reconfigure.

Having designed an EcoSafe installation (CAD planning software is available) assembly couldn't be simpler.

After marking the perimeter on the floor the support posts are anchored, 'hook and hang' brackets are installed and screwed into place.

* Looks are everything - in the 'hard-nosed' world of automotive manufacturing it is perhaps surprising that the looks of the EcoSafe system are so highly valued.

At Land Rover the fact that the system gave the facility a 'corporate feel' was incredibly important.

The EcoSafe system offers the option of wire mesh screens or protective panels.

At Land Rover the wire mesh has been left in the original colour of grey with the inner sections galvanised to resist the water thrown off during the spot welding process.

On this project the EcoSafe system was up against three other guarding systems.

However, the combination of cost-competitive pricing, a known end product and the support of Bosch Rexroth more than met expectations.

* Integration - hugely important to Land Rover was the ease with which the EcoSafe system could be integrated with other equipment.

Access is obviously a major issue in machine guarding: if a system is too complicated or unwieldy then productivity can be affected and employees may look for an opportunity to 'bypass' the safety fencing.

If access can be gained too readily then there is the possibility of an employee venturing too close to a robot which has not finished its cycle.

There is a delicate balance to be struck.

This balance exists at Land Rover in the form of an electronic interlocked trapped key gate system incorporating technology from Fortress Interlocks.

Other products which the fence line must integrate with are light guards, light scanners and signal towers.

Land Rover's Manufacturing Engineering team were quick to point out that retrofitting these devices was simplicity itself due to the design of the EcoSafe product.

Installing a signal tower for example simply requires brackets being fitted into the grooves on the profiles, a process which with a traditional steel guarding system would have required a great deal of time, effort and equipment.

With the specification of the EcoSafe product, Land Rover was looking for a lightweight, flexible, affordable guarding system provided by a supplier that had the infrastructure to support the project through all of its various phases.

Perhaps the clearest indication of Land Rover's satisfaction is that the next major project at Land Rover's Halewood plant will incorporate the EcoSafe system.