As one of the UK's leading suppliers of safety equipment for rental, ESS Safeforce encounter numerous plant operators trying to enforce pedestrian exclusion zones, indicating there is huge market potential for anti-collision safety systems, encompassing the safety of both workforce and civilians.
That’s why some time ago, we teamed up with OnGrade, giving our customers access to their truly innovative and lifesaving product, the SiteZone Proximity Warning Safety System.
The risk of accidents on site such as railways, building construction or even waste management sites is high due to there being numerous distractions such as noise, impaired visibility and spatial obstructions – all of which contribute to the danger. On site workers are often lulled into a false sense of security believing that they are 100% visible by machine operators and other vehicle drivers, while in fact, this is not always the case.
OnGrade’s wearable RFID technology avoids the risk of danger by alerting personnel, operators and pedestrians to each other’s presence regardless of site conditions and warnings of a potential collision.
The RFID tag is a discreet and simple piece of safety wear you can have on all day. It’s unobtrusive and lightweight, but it is a lifesaver. It is part of a two-way proximity alarm system, where the pedestrian wears the RFID tag on their sleeve or hard hat. At the same time, all working site vehicles are fitted with an RFID detector. Whenever a pedestrian enters the set proximity of a vehicle, both the pedestrian and driver receive a warning. The RFID tag on the pedestrian’s sleeve or hat vibrates and an external alarm sounds, making them aware of the vehicle’s proximity, while the driver is alerted by sound and flashing lights inside their vehicle’s cab.
Gary Ridsdale, Director at ESS Safeforce commented:
“In light of even stricter safety standards across the UK construction sector, we offer SiteZone as an early adoption product, in most construction environments we can identify the potential need whether that be a cost effective safety product available for rental or an innovative tool which enables improved processes and procedures for a business or during a project."
ESS Safeforce have a team of installers who can install the SiteZone equipment on site and train the users both operating the machinery and those wearing the devices. The major benefit of this is keeping the whole supply in house so ESS Safeforce remain in charge of the PWS equipment, tags and users. That way, in the event of breakdowns or potential incidents we have a clear chain of events to work from in order to offer a quick and cost-effective solution.
To date the collaboration with OnGrade has proved significantly worthwhile and interest in the safety system is continuously growing, enabling ESS Safeforce to provide an even greater level of service to our customers when offering safety solutions nationwide.