The industry has significantly improved worksite safety over the last two decades, but more still needs to be done.
Pedestrians who work around moving vehicles are particularly vulnerable, so worksites must implement measures to separate the two where possible. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) the most significant risk to pedestrians is from materials handling equipment and mobile plant.
Workplace health and safety protocols are paramount and should never be overlooked. Going to work is necessary for most people, allowing them to meet daily expenses and improve their quality of life. Therefore, employers must prioritise safety and provide a secure work environment, while employees must follow health and safety guidelines and site rules which are in place. It is unacceptable for someone to leave their home and family and go to work never to return or return with life-changing injuries due to a company’s health and safety failure or failure to follow essential health and safety guidelines.
Businesses must implement appropriate health and safety measures tailored to their working environment and any potential safety hazards. Demonstrating the necessary duty of care to the workforce builds trust and loyalty, improves efficiency, maintains a strong brand reputation and helps avoid costly HR procedures.
A pedestrian detection system is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of accidents between pedestrian workers and moving vehicles. Different proximity detection solutions, including RFID, Ultra-wideband, and camera systems, are available. ZoneSafe’s Vehicle-to-Person proximity warning system uses RFID proximity tags. Unlike other solutions, ZoneSafe’s proximity tags do not rely on line of sight, which means pedestrians are detected behind obstacles, lifted materials and around blind corners.
When a proximity tag is detected, the vehicle’s operator is made aware of the pedestrian worker close to the vehicle via an audible visual alarm. At the same time, pedestrian workers are also alerted to approaching vehicles through vibration from the proximity tag.
Anti-collision technology is also available for materials handling equipment and plant vehicles, which reduces costly collisions and damage. ZoneSafe’s Vehicle-to-Vehicle solution offers reliable long-range vehicle detection offering two configurable warning zones, including an outer pre-warning zone and an inner warning zone. The warning zones are end-user configurable, which means the system is easy to set up on-site and adjusted to specific requirements.
Other Types of Detection Systems
For companies with a large number of workers on a single site, implementing a tag-based system could be prohibitively expensive and difficult to manage. ZoneSafe has recently introduced a new range of safety solutions such as Active Signage, which eliminates the need for tags and instead detects approaching vehicles in high-risk areas and then activates to warn pedestrians. These systems are installed at walkways, crossings, and blind corners to ensure maximum safety for workers.
Site Safety Integration – Activated signage & walkway alert systems.
Installing safety signs in the workplace can play a crucial role in preventing accidents and minimising the chances of collisions between pedestrians and vehicles. By placing warning signs in strategic locations that activate upon sensing an approaching vehicle, can significantly reduce the risk of a potentially serious collision and avoid near misses.
ZoneSafe offers a comprehensive selection of active signage solutions that enable worksites to create an independent vehicle warning system or combine multiple solutions to establish a site-wide safety network. You can customise the system to suit your requirements and choose from visual warnings such as activated warning signs, activated warning lights, traffic lights, and floor-projected warning symbols. Additionally, you can opt for vehicle speed restriction zones and pedestrian gates that lock automatically upon detecting a vehicle’s presence.
Event data provides valuable insights into a worksite’s safety performance, which makes creating a safer work environment easier. ZoneSafe’s Cloud Platform offers many benefits that enhance safety across your worksite using data from system events and devices.
Some of the benefits of ZoneSafe Data Management include analysing and comparing events, tracking vehicle movement and geo-tagging near-miss occurrences, generating custom reports, and sharing data. By identifying trends and patterns in the data, you can manage safety performance more effectively and make informed decisions about improving safety.
- Analyse and compare events.
- Track vehicle movement and geo-tag near-miss occurrences.
- Generate custom reports and share data.
- Identify trends and patterns.
- Manage safety performance.
- Link with other ZoneSafe applications.
Although it’s impossible to quantify the value of human life, prioritising worker safety and preventing accidents and injuries is invaluable.
ZoneSafe has worked with numerous companies across different industry sectors to help reduce collision risks and create safer worksites. By providing tailored solutions that meet each site’s unique requirements, ZoneSafe has helped companies in industries such as waste and recycling, transport, agriculture, manufacturing, and aerospace improve their safety performance.
Our range of active warning solutions and data management systems has enabled these companies to identify potential risks, analyse data, and implement strategies to enhance their safety measures. We’re committed to positively changing workplace safety across industries and continue to innovate and develop new solutions to help our customers achieve their safety goals.
Call us today to protect your employees and company with ZoneSafe proximity warning systems, or visit zonesafe.com for more information.
