HRS exhibited for the first time at this year’s Rail Live. The event which took place on recently at Quinton Rail Technology Centre, Warwickshire, is the only exhibition bringing the entire rail industry together in a real railway environment, with over 200 exhibitors and 6000 visitors each year.

HRS demonstrated how the use of technology enabled traffic management solutions can protect workers and the travelling public during the maintenance, repair and renewals of railway assets and the roads that cross them.

Their Incursion, Prevention and Mitigation (IPM) system significantly increases levels of safety for the workforce by detecting and alerting them to a breach in the work-zone. Motion sensitive Intellicone traffic cone lamps detect unauthorised movement and activate an audible alarm to deter the intruder from entering the work site.

Wireless monitoring of each work-zone enables all the work sites to be viewed on a live operations map through their portal. Their platform enables live and historic views across all locations, such as level crossings. All incursion data is subsequently available and may be used to generate historical incursion maps and site-specific safety information prior to works taking place.

These systems have been shown to reduce site incursions by members of the public by 50% whilst also increasing the working window.

Also being showcased at the event was their Mobile Customer Support (MCS) Terminal. This digitally enabled interactive terminal provides members of the public with a method of seeking support and communicating with the site team, safely and without entering a work-zone. During a shift the Controller of Site Safety (COSS) is provided with a Portable Site Alarm (PSA) which geo locates the level crossing and the work site. Members of the public who wish to raise the attention of the COSS can then use the MCS Terminal, remotely activating an alert on the COSS’s PSA. Authorised personnel and emergency services that require access/ escorting through the work-zone can also gain access safely using the ‘escort’ mode on the PSA.

In the event that a closure is in place over a prolonged period, the MCS Terminal will automatically contact a designated phone number, enabling relevant information and support to be provided to the public directly.

The MCS Terminal is geo-located and self-configures when places in the perimeter of a pre-defined work site. It is fully rechargeable and may be combined with external battery packs for long lasting operation. The terminal can be quickly assembled by traffic management operatives and the information boards may be customised accordingly.

MCS Terminals are currently in use across the UK in different infrastructure projects. Their use has been shown to improve safety with members of the public less likely to enter a work site, and by reducing levels of aggression and confrontation against on-site personnel.

The revised guidance for industry best practice is based on the outcome of a recent Highways England study which concluded that “the warning functionality of Intellicone will provide a much faster and more reliable means of informing road workers of a vehicle incursion than traditional methods (e.g. mobile phone/text-based broadcast message to others working in the area). The benefits of this type of system can provide significant benefit to the mitigation of all types of incursion risks”.

Vehicle incursions are one of the highest risks that road workers are exposed to. Over the past 10 years several fatalities have been recorded and more 1,700 vehicle incursions were reported during 2018.

Smart Closure System Benefits:

• A real time incursion warning system that instantly alerts the workforce in of an errant vehicle incursion
• Electronically monitored & alarmed road closure points, removing Traffic Management personnel from areas of potential confrontation
• Alerts the workforce to non-works vehicles passing through the works area (i.e. emergency vehicles, gritters, escorted vehicles etc), enhancing safety and improving efficiency
• Remote two-way communication with local residents requiring access via Smart Portable Intercom, enabling road users to communicate Traffic Management personnel Smart Closure System Benefits:

Highways England’s recent released ‘Raising the Bar 27 Guidelines’ (Managing Temporary Traffic Management Incursions) highlights the important contribution of smart safety technology in helping to prevent and mitigate vehicle incursions into roadworks. As a direct response to these requirements, HRS’s Smart Closure system is now widely available for use across the Strategic Road Network.