PPE & WORKWEAR
DON’T BURST THE BUBBLE
Gary Escott, Director of OnGrade, shares his thoughts on how wearable RFID technology can help prevent collisions on site.
Any kind of working site is a dangerous place, whether it’s related to construction, railways, transport and logistics or waste management – the potential for accidents is high. The combination of big plant or vehicles moving around a fixed space, along with pedestrians, noise, impaired visibility, are all distractions that encourage the likelihood of safety breaches.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) there were 65,000 non-fatal work injuries reported in between 2014 and 2015. Approximately 11% of those people were struck by objects while doing their jobs on site, including by moving plant. 42 lives were lost from being struck by machinery or an object.
WEARABLE RFID At OnGrade, we’ve been pushing our ongoing campaign, ‘DON’T BURST THE BUBBLE’ to educate about the collision
24
danger on sites. The bubble we refer to is our visual impression of the danger zones on site between moving plant and nearby pedestrians. Too often workers are lulled into a false sense of security when it comes to collision risk with moving vehicles and plant.
As well as educating through a visual campaign, we want to raise awareness of wearable RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) proximity alarms, like our SiteZone system. RFID use is already beginning to transform site safety. It gives users 360 vision regardless of site conditions and warns of an impending collision. It has prevented countless serious injuries already, as well as saved lives.
JUST STICK IT ON YOUR SLEEVE The RFID tag is one of the simplest bits of safety kit you can actually wear all day, on the job. Its potentially life-saving performance is accessible easily and discreetly.
The pedestrian can either wear an RFID tag on their sleeve or hard hat. Conversely, all site vehicles are fitted with an RFID detector. Therefore, when a pedestrian enters the ‘bubble’ of a vehicle, both the pedestrian and driver receive a warning; it’s a two- way failsafe so each party knows when a collision risk is imminent. The RFID tag on the pedestrian’s sleeve or hat vibrates and beeps, making them aware of the vehicle’s proximity, while the driver is alerted by sound and flashing lights. Each ‘bubble’ can be adjusted to suit specific vehicles and site conditions.
Users have already reported a change in behaviour because the proximity alarm has deterred pedestrians on site from ‘drifting’ too near to moving vehicles or plant. Quite simply, wearers don’t like the noise it makes, so they are more diligent to avoid setting it off. Furthermore, having RFID receivers
www.tomorrowshs.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62
