Network Rail has approved the SiteZone Safety proximity warning system as a suitable safety solution to reduce collision risk between personnel and vehicles or plant on rail projects.
The system produces a detection zone around a vehicle, machine or restricted area. When the detection zone is breached by personnel wearing a SiteZone tag, the machine operator is alerted to their presence and can take the appropriate action.
As part of the Network Rail approval process, a site-based behavioural study using SiteZone was undertaken by the University of Nottingham and 2020 SHE Solutions. The results showed that SiteZone “made people more aware of the risks associated with working around plant and had therefore made the site safer”.
The system has already been used by Crossrail, HS2 and Transport for London.
Gary Escott, managing director of SiteZone Safety, said: “The SiteZone Safety team is delighted that SiteZone has met the exacting standards of Network Rail product acceptance. It is already a trusted safety solution across many industries and we are looking forward to bringing these same benefits to the rail industry.”
The system has a range of options that can make the product application-specific. These include:
- the BucketZone sensor, which creates a detection zone around the working equipment of vehicles like excavators;
- the patent-pending SmartBubble technology, which can reduce unnecessary alerts when a piece of plant is in a “safe state”; and
- the OverSite telematics system, which can be used for data-driven performance improvement.
