Due to the high-risk nature of trackside environments, ensuring worker safety continues to be an industry priority. Frequent maintenance, upgrade and renewal programmes expose trackside workers to multiple hazards, including open lines and high-voltage electricity. These safety challenges are increased with the presence of human error - miscommunication, distraction and fatigue are just a few human factors that can lead to a loss of situational awareness, which can be fatal in these high-risk environments.
Combining geospatial technology, wearables and behavioural science, Tended is helping to reduce the risk of human error and ensure track worker safety across different use cases. Here are some examples of activities in which Tended can help deliver efficiency and safety improvements.
Permanent way maintenance and inspection
With Tended, safe zones, access points and routes can be defined on your worksite using geofencing. If a worker exits one of these zones, they are alerted in real time via their wearable, helping them regain situational awareness and move back to safety.
If a line block needs to be temporarily handed back, active safe zones can be turned off. This triggers an alert to all workers assigned to that worksite, notifying them that the zone is no longer safe and to move to a position of safety. This flexibility helps you quickly respond to schedule changes and minimises the risk of workers being exposed to open lines and oncoming trains.
Authorised site access
Confirmations of when a line block is received can be miscommunicated or misinterpreted, with the potential of workers accessing the worksite when lines are still open.
With Tended, you can ensure workers don’t access the worksite before it is safe. Specify the exact date and time for the safe zone to be active in accordance with the safe work pack. If workers attempt to access the site before it is active, they will be notified via their wearable, which will continue to alert them until they leave their unsafe position.
Vegetation clearance, litter picking and troughing work
Set a time and date for your safe working zones to suit work schedules. These variable safe zones help ensure your teams are away from harm when hazardous activities are scheduled onsite and safe zones can also be stopped if a line block needs to temporarily be given back.
If a safe zone is stopped without the team knowing, anyone on track will receive an instant alert to notify them of their now unsafe position, allowing them to immediately move to safety.
Working onsite with isolation limits
Tended supports Form C working by enabling planners to define the safe work zone for those required to work within 2.75 metres of 25 kV OLE.
Using the measurement tool, an isolation fence can be drawn around the safe limits of where the electrical current has been isolated, as well as any open lines onsite. Workers are then alerted in real time if they cross the boundary, warning them to move back to safety immediately.
Placing protection equipment
Incorrectly placed protection equipment, such as possession limit and marker boards, have significant safety, cost and efficiency implications.
Tended allows you to easily plot the exact location for the installation of your protection equipment. Once your site is ready to start (i.e. the line is under possession), a real-time view of your worksite allows you to compare planned and live asset locations and ensure that everything is in the correct place before setting your site live.
Asset tracking
With a real-time view of your worksite, you can easily identify unsafe events or conditions, including vehicles entering the site from the wrong direction or on the wrong line and if plant comes within close proximity to other vehicles or equipment.
Receive a notification if any assets, such as plant or trolleys, leave the safe working zone to help stop runaways and prevent collisions.
Upon the completion of works, a quick scan of the Planning Dashboard will support you with the line clear verification process by showing any assets left onsite.
Learn more about asset tracking.
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