Wearable safety systems that increase user awareness can help to reduce incidents in busy industrial workplaces, explains ZoneSafe General Manager, David Thomas.
The UK is thankfully one of the safest countries in the world to work, but with 142 fatal accidents in 2021 and 441,000 working people injured at work according to the Labour Force Survey, it is clear more needs to be done.
There are lots of measures employers can take to improve workplace safety and technology is playing an increasingly important role in these efforts. Digitised systems make it easier to monitor productivity and report accurate, real-time data which is invaluable in identifying risks and promoting better safety in the workplace.
As the adoption of workplace technology has increased so too has the trend for wearable safety products. Wearables are increasingly being used to improve health and wellbeing in our everyday lives, so it is easy to see how this has spilled into the workplace. With the industrial wearables market size projected to grow from USD 1.1 billion in 2019 to USD 8.6 billion by 2024, this trend shows no sign of slowing down.
Wearable Safety systems that increase user awareness are particularly helpful in environments where pedestrians and vehicles work in close proximity. Pedestrian/vehicle collisions remain a common problem in busy industrial workplaces with fatal and non-fatal accidents reported every year.
Despite great efforts in accident prevention, fatalities from being struck by a moving vehicle increased from 20 in 2019/20 to 25 in 2020/21 in the UK. The danger of moving equipment and vehicles is an ever-present threat in industries where workplace transport and machinery are commonly used. With vehicle and equipment strikes such a widespread danger, many companies have opted to invest in proximity warning technology to alert workers to hazards.
One of the main issues is around visibility in poorly lit or cramped environments and areas with blind spots. Noise is also a common problem and the rise in almost silent electric vehicles has the potential to exacerbate this. By introducing wearable proximity warning technology, employers can combat these issues by alerting users to potential collisions even in the most challenging environments. RFID technology eliminates blind spots by ‘seeing’ around corners, and is unaffected by poor lighting, smoke, dust and other challenging conditions.
Proximity sensors are attached to vehicles creating a detection zone and worn on personnel in the form of a tag on a lanyard, clothing, hard hat or in a pocket. When an individual enters the detection zone of the vehicle or hazard, both the driver and pedestrian receive an audio/visual alarm to alert them of the risk and stop their activity. The system helps to protect operators from accidental strikes with people, robots and hazards and can also reduce vehicle to vehicle collisions. The application of proximity sensors has been shown to protect people, vehicles and equipment.
As the wearable tags are small enough to attach to clothing, lanyards, on the body or in pockets, they do not impact the wearer’s ability to complete tasks. This type of wearable technology plays a vital role in identifying potential problems before they happen and can drive positive behavioural change as users become more aware of their actions. A 2017 survey conducted by Zebra Technologies found that half of manufacturers planned to adopt wearable technologies by this year (2022) and 55% of those already using wearable technology expected to expand their level of usage in the next five years.
Employers and managers can use data collected from the tags to gain deep insight into the greatest risks within their workplace and use real time breach data to educate and inform the workforce on dangerous behaviour. This can then be used to empower workers with a better understanding of their own safety and how to work together for the safest work environment.
ZoneSafe Proximity Warning Systems, manufactured by Avonwood Developments Ltd, provide a range of practical solutions to help reduce accidents, collisions, and serious near-miss occurrences when working with plant and materials handling equipment.
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