In the late 1980s, KOBELCO thoroughly pursued safety to rid the image of danger to construction machines.
This meant that we would aim for "Safety = KOBELCO".
This goal has continued to be passed forward, developing various features and measures to improve safety in the workplace.
The first model that embodied our "Safety = KOBELCO" was the SK-NEW Mark II which was released in 1987. With this model, we introduced several industry-first safety features including flashing turn indicators that call the attention of workers at the rear of the machine, a mount and dismount lock lever for preventing operation errors, and a rotary multi-lever control to prevent confusion with lever operation systems of other companies. Our pursuit for safety continues as evidenced by our original systems such as a rear view camera that practically eliminates blind spots behind a machine and an eagle eye view system which enables a comprehensive 270° view from the images of cameras located on the left, right and rear of the vehicle.
The various functions developed to improve safety at the workplace have become a synonym for "KOBELCO", not to mention low fuel consumption. The "Dig Nav / Dig Nav +PLUS" system is our latest function which features our further pursuit of safety at the workplace.
The "Dig Nav / Dig Nav +PLUS" system navigates excavator's operations by indications from display and alarm, or semiautomatic operations. This system eliminates personnel for measurement and verification operations, reduces working hours, and decreases the risk of contact between machine and personnel. In short, the function significantly improves both workability and safety.