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Mobile Equipment Safety System
| Principal Applicant: | Richard Shervey (Pro-active Safety Systems Technologies Inc.) |
For more information about this project, please contact Richard Shervey or visit the Pro-active Safety Systems Technologies website.
Issue
Many workplace fatalities and serious injuries occur when workers are struck by or caught in heavy mobile equipment, such as forklifts, log loaders, dump trucks and bulldozers. Many kinds of mobile equipment are built to accomplish specific tasks, meaning that operator comfort and visibility can be compromised in certain instances. Stringent operating procedures and safety practices are in effect in today’s workplaces, but accidents involving people and mobile machines still happen as a result of these design issues. Such accidents can result in serious injuries, and even fatalities.
A key factor is the poor visibility that equipment operators often have, which makes it difficult to see people on the ground. This research team was awarded Innovation at Work funding in 2007, 2008, and 2009 to test and perfect a wireless system that can issue warnings when a machine approaches workers, and shut down or slow the machinery if it gets too close. In year one, the sensor technology was refined, and a prototype of the device was built, installed on a forklift, and tested. In year two, several improvements were made to the system, and pilot testing was carried out at an industrial worksite. In year three, the machine antenna system was enhanced, along with the driver detection feature and vest design.
Key findings
- The wireless system has been refined and developed, and was pilot tested in overhead cranes at an industrial worksite (Rio-Tinto/Alcan Aluminum smelter in Kitimat, B.C.).
- Improvements to the system included:
- Increased accuracy in detecting people and objects
- A means of taking a machine’s speed into account when determining how close it is can get to people and objects
- An automatic detection feature that turns off a driver’s vest when s/he is in the operator’s seat (allowing multiple machines to work in close proximity to each other without affecting operation and ensuring worker safety)
- Enhancing the vest’s design to incorporate more powerful computer processors and to accommodate different body types
- The project team has made a number of patent applications and expects the system to be introduced into the marketplace in the near future.
Objectives
| Year one: | The first phase of the project was aimed at completing the design and testing of the radio wave and tag system, which is able to detect workers who are in the path of moving machines and automatically slow or stop the equipment. |
| Year two: | The second phase of the project was focused on developing the system for use in industrial job sites. This included the introduction of specially designed antennae and the development of a complete vest and tag system to be worn by workers. |
| Year three: | The third phase of the project was primarily focused on the enhancement and refinement of the machine antenna system, which allows for detection of a worker standing to the side of a machine’s path. The driver detection feature was also perfected during this phase, allowing for a driver’s vest to be automatically shut off when s/he is in the operator’s seat – allowing two or more machines to work in close proximity without affecting their operation. The vest design was also enhanced to accommodate a variety of body types. |
Methods
Over the three years of the project, different products were evaluated to determine the best radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to use to detect distances between the machine and people. A “real time location system” was developed that uses tags (to be worn by workers) and sensors (to be incorporated into the machine) to determine exactly how far away the worker is. A prototype of the device, including an interface between the system and the equipment’s braking system, was incorporated into a forklift and tested in locations with both medium and high radio interference. Next, the project team further developed the system and pilot tested it in overhead cranes at the Rio-Tinto/Alcan Aluminum smelter in Kitimat, British Columbia. Based on the outcomes of that testing, the system was further refined and enhanced.
Results
- In year one, the prototype was successfully tested in locations with medium and harsh radio interference. Initial difficulties in high interference environments were successfully overcome through the development of software modifications.
- Year two improvements the system included:
- Increased accuracy of detection of distances between a machine and workers or objects
- The system’s ability to distinguish between different types of objects and people using identification tags
- Design of different worker safety vest and tag combinations that allow the system to allow the identification tag to be more easily detected
- Modifications to the antenna system to better distinguish between objects directly in the machine’s path and objects to the side of the machine
- A way to adjust the size of the safety zone around the machine depending on its speed (i.e. larger safety zones for faster speeds/smaller safety zones for slower speeds)
- The system functioned well on overhead cranes during pilot testing at an industrial worksite.
- The research and development phases of the project were near completion by the end of the third year of funding.
Conclusions
By the end of year three, the system was performing well and was ready for implementation. Patent applications were submitted for the newly developed technologies. The team developed a demonstration video, and received a Northern British Columbia Business and Technology Workplace Health and Safety Award.
Future directions
The research team is working to get the system implemented in a variety of industries. The research has also led to the perfection of a system for human asset tracking, to improve safety in high risk work environments such as underground mines, oil platforms, and other jobsites where knowing the exact location of all workers is essential.
Publications and Presentations
Proactive Safety Demonstration Video
Heather Young. 2009. Fair Warning: Two industrial electricians have invented a device to protect workers on the ground from getting hurt or killed by mobile heavy equipment. WorkSafe Magazine, May/June, 24-26.
Devon Brooks. 2010. The Magic Forklift. Okanagan Business Examiner June 25, 2010.