Area 4 Asset Support Contract, A21 Whatlington
Project Summary
During a resurfacing project on the A21 near Whatlington, the Smart Closure Incursion Warning System prevented serious incident from occurring when an errant vehicle breached the traffic management, threatening the safety of the workforce on site.
Outcomes Delivered
Prior to mobilisation of the works, the traffic management supervisor delivered a briefing detailing the procedures for using the Smart Closure Incursion Warning System. A safety plan was also agreed with the clients supervisor, which was also briefed to the workforce.
During the shift, a resident requiring escort to their property arrived at one end of the road closure and requested access via the gateman. Once permitted and whilst being escorted, an errant vehicle sped towards and through the closure point, not making any attempt to slow down and passing the escort vehicle convoy. The gateman immediately pressed the incursion warning button on the remote unit of the red Portable Site Alarm, this then triggered all of the Portable Site Alarm units within the work zone, including – and most importantly – the blue Portable Site Alarm units which were located with the workforce.
As the closure length was approximately 11km, there was a slight delay before the errant vehicle would reach the working areas, giving the operatives time to get to safety.
The gateman immediately rang the traffic management supervisor to inform him that the vehicle was making its way through the site and at speed. The Traffic Management Supervisor then contacted the works supervisor, who confirmed that the crew had stopped working and moved to a place of safety upon hearing and seeing the alarm. As per the pre-works briefing, they were awaiting an update as to when it was safe to proceed. The errant vehicle sped through the entirety of the site and burst through the cones at the other end.
Fortunately, no one was harmed and there was no significant damage caused to site equipment. Thanks to the Smart Closure Incursion Warning System, the workforce had adequate warning and time to reach a place of safety before the vehicle had reached their working area.
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“In my opinion, without the Intellicone system in place to give everyone a clear and immediate warning of an incursion, there was a was a very real and serious potential for injury, or fatality. By having a robust emergency plan in place and the correct equipment to underpin that plan, we were able to ensure the safety of everyone at work that evening.”
“If Intellicone wasn’t being used on this site tonight, I believe one hundred percent someone would have been killed.”