The reversing and warning alarms market has seen an influx of imitation products that hope to replicate Brigade’s bbs-tek®. Operators should be aware that these products do not hold the same accreditations, service support and, most importantly, the same specification as Brigade’s bbs-tek® White Sound® alarm.
One of the reasons Brigade’s alarms are so unique is because they do not cause a noise nuisance but do provide an effective warning sound for vulnerable road users. In fact, bbs-tek® is the only alarm on the market to have been awarded the Quiet Mark.
Quiet Mark is an international award programme and system of support for brands and consumers. Through its pioneering acoustic tests,the organisation awards its distinctive Purple Q Mark to products and services that show excellence in low-noise and high-performance.
The Quiet Mark has been awarded to over 60 leading global brands across the first 50 product categories, from dishwashers to garden tools and noise reduction solutions, including AEG Electrolux, BSH Bosch, DeLonghi, Dyson, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Siemens and Whirlpool.
These companies have decided to invest responsibly in acoustic design, achieving awards for the technical excellence of their quieter products or solutions to unwanted noise. The award is more well known in the consumer market due to Quiet Mark’s partnership with John Lewis but it is quickly gaining traction in the commercial sector.
Brigade’s Marketing Manager, Emily Hardy said: “People want to be able to have a conversation over a cup of tea without the noise of a kettle or other loud appliances in the home but equally they don’t want to be woken up in the morning or late at night by a piercing reversing alarm. Quiet Mark acknowledges technologies that reduce noise pollution and have a positive impact on lowering stress levels. In turn this improves our health at home, outdoors and in the workplace. “
Brigade’s unique reversing alarms emit a wide range of broad band sound frequencies which dissipate quickly. This means the warning can only be heard in the danger zone and not at unnecessary distances away from the vehicle. Traditional tonal alarms however can be heard in an area up to thirty times further than white sound alarms which can cause; unnecessary stress to those outside the vehicle, drivers to become desensitised to the noise therefore ignoring it and even hearing damage. Brigade’s bbs-tek alarms also have PIEK / Noise Abatement Society certification for use during quiet night time deliveries enabling operators to deliver at more unsociable hours without disturbing local residents and improving bottom line profits.
Emily Hardy continues: “We are seeing an increase of cheap imitations, but they do not have the same sound qualities as bbs-tek®, nor the Quiet Mark award or certification for quiet night time deliveries because they do not achieve the required standards.”
Quiet Mark’s Co-founder and Managing Director, Poppy Szkiler, comments, “Reversing alarms have become an aurally irritating part of our daily soundscape but they don’t need to be intrusive to all. Quiet Mark has tested the Brigade’s bbs-tek® White Sound® alarm and found that it performs perfectly as a warning to those in the vehicle’s danger zone, without causing disturbance to anyone else. Brigade is helping to create a healthier environment by taking the effect of excessive noise seriously and we are delighted to award this innovative product with the Quiet Mark.”
Globally bbs-tek® is recognised as the revolutionary new generation of reversing alarm to prevent noise complaints. In New York City bbs-tek® is the only alarm permitted on construction vehicles. In Europe the noise issue is also gaining momentum. Colin Nugent, Noise Pollution Expert at the European Environment Agency (EEA) said: “The EEA is raising awareness of the growing problem of noise pollution across Europe by stating that the very real health impacts of noise are often underestimated. The EEA recommends Quiet Mark as a solution to the problem.”
In the UK big construction projects like HS2 have written white sound alarms into their vehicle safety specification. Freight Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS), formerly owned by Transport for London, also requires operators to provide evidence of noise reduction equipment drivers have fitted to their vehicles. bbs-tek® white sound reversing alarms are one solution to meeting project specification and FORS regulations.
