Earlier this year, Network Rail revealed that so far its Safety Task Force has reduced the number of near misses between track workers and moving trains by 70%. They report the most common cause of the remaining 30% of near misses is due to either an insufficient Safe Work Pack, or a loss of worker situational awareness causing workers to stray outside of their safe working areas and into the path of hazards.
With geofencing now mandated for use on the UK’s rail network, organisations are able to use this technology to virtually map out worksites and create boundaries around hazardous areas, giving workers real-time alerts the moment they step into danger. This technology is revolutionising safety on the railway and providing a much safer environment for trackside teams.
1. Geofencing can provide your teams with an extra layer of safety protection
In line with Network Rail’s Standard 0130, when working on or near an open line, site controllers must segregate a safe area of work away from railway operations, in order to keep trackside workers safe.
This is done using physical barriers, and whilst this method can be effective, sometimes a compromised sense of situational awareness can affect a worker’s judgement and cause them to overlook or misinterpret these barriers. The fact that trackside maintenance is often completed at night can contribute to this, causing fatigue and hindering visibility. That’s not to mention the fact that barriers are time-consuming to set up and can be placed in the wrong location.
Having the addition of virtual barriers to site works using geofencing therefore adds an extra layer of protection for trackside workers, improving their situational awareness and providing a preventative measure in situations where physical barriers are not 100% effective.
2. Geofencing can help you to create a better Safe Work Pack
The Safe Work Pack, compiled by the PIC, Planner and Responsible Manager, is used to identify and manage all possible risks for teams that are working on or near an open railway line. It is a system that is mandatory in order for trackside work to go ahead, as required by Network Rail’s Standard 019.
Completed well, a Safe Work Pack allows for safer, more efficient rail projects. As it is a form of risk evaluation and prevention, an insufficient Safe Work Pack could well result in a near-miss event, or worse.
Geofencing can be used to plan worksites and multi-constellation GNSS allows us to accurately map out safe areas of work. Using geofencing to map out your worksite not only helps protect your teams, but also assists with safer site planning, helps define safe access points, and reduces the risk of errors, adding value to your Safe Work Pack.
3. Geofencing can help put an end to preventable accidents and workers being struck by trains
Safety in the railway industry is absolutely critical. Despite many improvements to trackside safety over the years,The Office for Rail and Road (ORR) has recorded 10 workforce fatalities on the UK mainline since 2020. This shows that there is stil work to be done when it comes to worker safety on the UK’s railway.
By improving trackside safety with geofencing, organisations can reduce both the economic and human costs of accidents and fatalities. That’s not to mention the knock-on effects of this, including productivity losses, admin and legal costs, employers’ liability and insurance costs. While all of these can be given an estimated monetary value, it is impossible to quantify the loss to the victim and their family.
By bringing geofencing into this safety-critical industry, we can empower people to work in confidence and help ensure that every trackside worker can return home to their family after every shift.
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Want to see for yourself? If you’d like to learn how Tended’s geofencing solution can benefit you and improve site safety, get in touch to book a demo.
