HRS and ‘The Digital Future of Work Zone Safety’ at Highways UK 2019
Last week, HRS exhibited at Highways UK event at the NEC in Birmingham. As one of the major highways industry events, Highways UK brings together people and organisations involved in the planning, operation and future-proofing of the UK's strategic road network.
At the two-day show, the HRS stand demonstrated how digital services and the use of technology enabled traffic management solutions are transforming worksites for safer and more efficient working whilst improving the customer experience. Our chairman, Andrew Fennell, also gave a talk about how technology is changing the way we work on our roads and improving safety for everyone who interacts with a temporary construction site.
At the stand, attendees were impressed by the touch screen displays which showed live data from temporary worksites around the UK using our digital customer platform. The digitally mapped work zones give authorised personnel real-time information for a quick response to incidents and informed decision-making for current and future projects. Each zone map provides information such as location, working windows and any alarms, which are relayed from the digitally enabled traffic management equipment on site. All these services are connected via secure and resilient cloud-based systems, allowing works to be managed and delivered safely and efficiently.
This customer platform works in conjunction with the smart assets on site as part of our Smart Taper and Smart Closure systems. Technology, such as our smart assets allow for remote road closure monitoring, so that traffic management staff are safe from abuse and violence. Equally, remote monitoring also ensures the best use of available resources, letting staff focus on the areas that need attention. Systems like ours provide an instant alert to the workforce if the traffic management is breached, giving them valuable extra time to get to a place of safety. A site warning system such as that provided by the Smart Closure solution is now accepted as industry best practice.
Visitors to the stand were also able to see the HRS Smart Intercom Sign. These intuitive customer-facing systems inform and deter the traveling public from entering restricted work zones by providing works information and two-way communication with traffic management staff. For example, using technology such as QR codes, drivers can get the diversion route directly on their phone using an app like Google Maps. These signs significantly reduce unauthorised incursions into worksites whilst improving customer satisfaction.
Visit www.highwayresource.co.uk or call us on +44 (0) 800 206 13 19