Intellicone® IPAWS enhances safety for workers on on of Kent’s busiest routes
The installation of HRS' Intellicone® Incursion Prevention & Warning System (IIPAWS®) on the redesign of one of the busiest roundabouts in Kent added an extra layer of protection for contractors, ensuring they got home safely and aided in the smooth running and completion of the redesign.
The Challenge
Kent County Council put forward a £650,000 priority project to redesign one of the busiest roundabouts with a high volume of crashes in Kent, the Running Horse Roundabout on the A229 Blue Bell Hill in Maidstone.
It was crucial that the road be re-opened at 5am each morning to avoid any delay as it needed to be closed for a 3-week period starting from the 15th April 2024.
This location has five approaches including motorway traffic and with the addition of a long diversion route, it was seen as high risk for incursions. As safety is paramount for Amey Plc and Kent County Council, they wanted to ensure everyone working on the closure was safe from any potential incursions.
Our Solution
This busy roundabout had never fully closed before, to reduce safety concerns Amey Plc approached HRS to explore utilising Intellicone® IPAWS at each closure point and wherever road users would have the opportunity to gain access to the works. Portable Site Alarms allow operatives stationed at closure points to raise an instant alarm to clear site in the event of an errant vehicle entering site and deter offending vehicles on hearing the built-in audio-visual alarm.
During the closure
There were several incursions, 2 of which were serious and could have potentially injured someone had it not been for the Intellicone® IPAWS early warning to the workforce.
Intellicone® IPAWS was called into action when a motorcyclist mounted the kerb, bypassed the closure point, and took off down the foot path.
The second incursion was a BMW which went around the gate and up the bank before driving past the contractors who were working on a blind bend further up the road, Amey TM Lead, Mark Morgan confirmed “If it wasn’t for the alarms then the contractors would still have been in the middle of the road with their heads down working which could have potentially been fatal, but thankfully due to the alarm they stopped work and moved to safety before the BMW raced past.”
Site supervisor from Amey Plc (Chris Court) and Design & Delivery Principle Engineer from Kent County Council (Christopher Koningen) were onsite to oversee the scheme, and had the opportunity to witness the system working first hand. Both said “It worked a treat”. They also confirmed they were so impressed to see everyone stop and move to safety.
Intellicone® IPAWS assisted these high profile works by adding an additional layer of protection which has helped to ensure everyone got home safely at the end of the shift
For more information please download the case study or
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“The Intellicone® system was used to provide an extra layer of protection for our contractors whilst working on one of the busiest roundabouts in Kent. On the first evening of construction, the alarm was triggered when a vehicle unlawfully entered the site, providing an immediate alert to operatives. This provided much-needed time to ensure the area was clear, which would have been very difficult to achieve without Intellicone®. The system provides an invaluable warning to people working on the highway and has the potential to prevent injury or fatality without a significant financial burden being placed on the client”