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Anglian water

Engagement with key partners and suppliers identified technological solutions to raise and align our plant standards, making them industry leading

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The Problem

Following a significant accident and several near misses involving people working near mobile plant, it was clear that we needed to do more. Our ethos with Anglian Water is to always do the right thing. We have achieved this by looking for solutions that are innovative, keeping people safe and building wider relationships with alliance partners, stakeholders and supply chain members.
With so many organisations involved and resource implications (both time and financial), this has been a challenging project to implement. But we have been tenacious, thinking of the end goal and safety benefits to see the project through. Keeping construction people safe is always at the forefront of our minds.

At a Glance

0

fatal injuries per year

There were 30 fatal injuries to workers and 5 to members of the public on UK construction sites in 2021/22.

0

non-fatal injuries

In 2019/20, there were also 4,526 non-fatal injuries to employees on UK construction sites, as reported by employers under RIDDOR regulations.

£16bn

cost to the economy

Injuries and ill-health in the UK construction industry are now costing upwards of £16.2bn per year.

The Solution

A collaborative Pan Alliance PPI Safety Strategy Group was established to develop a strategy (E1) with a roadmap (E2) to oversee a review of our equipment standards, processes, current controls and training, and to identify improvements. Our desired outcome was to eliminate or reduce to ALARP the risk of people-plant incidents and implement a full range of layers of protection based on the hierarchy of controls.
Benefits being:
  • Safer sites with reduced people-plant incidents/near misses
  • Consistent plant standards which are industry leading
  • Control and visibility via a managed service desk with data consistency, rates, utilisation and telematics
Safer sites with reduced people-plant incidents/near misses Consistent plant standards which are industry leading Control and visibility via a managed service desk with data consistency, rates, utilisation and telematics
  • Improved design practices to eliminate people-operated plant
  • Updated construction techniques and activities to remove the need to or minimise the time working in the danger zone (red zone)
  • Reviews of activities and associated RAMs
  • Refresher briefings on people-plant interface risks, safe working procedures and existing control measures
  • Managed Service Desk (MSD) to deliver the plant standards for hired plant
  • Engagement with key partners and suppliers identified technological solutions, raising and aligning our plant standards to make them industry leading. This includes Human Form Recognition (HFR) artificial intelligence cameras and ‘Digital Thumbs Up’, which are elements of the layers of control.
The Human Form Recognition (AI) is a multi-camera, modular-type system installed on mobile plant. It can differentiate between people and other obstacles and will only alert the operator of a ‘human intrusion’ into the detection zone, thereby reducing distractions for the operator. Alerts can be set up to warn pedestrians. Camera systems are uniquely configured, so the detection zones can be achieved with zero blind spot areas.

As an extension of the traditional ‘thumbs up’, the ‘Digital Thumbs Up’ system is a visual and audible indicator sited on the outside of a machine, activated by the operator once the machine has been isolated and indicating to the pedestrian that it’s safe to approach.

The benefit of using ‘Digital Thumbs Up’ is that it will automatically isolate the machine when the operator presses the green button located in the cab of the machine. Familiarisation videos on these systems have been created and rolled out at sites and operative briefings.

The HFR camera system provides a wealth of data from which we can learn and improve. Footage from all cameras, including HFR and non-HFR, will be made accessible for use to highlight hotspot areas on site, pinch points and good practice, or used as part of incident investigations and learning events.

As an example, the heatmaps shown below identify pinch points. We have needed to be considerate of how the data is used and ensure GDPR compliance.

This project has relied on the supply chain being prepared to invest heavily and come on the journey with us.

It has required anyone hiring plant go through the Anglian Water managed service desk (E3). Anyone owning plant is given a timeline to upgrade to the new standards. Financial benefits have also been achieved, as we have improved buying power to negotiate better rates.

Anglian Water is industry leading with this technology and we are engaging with the wider community to positively influence the industry. This includes the water industry, utilities and wider construction industries.

Going forward, we are establishing a PPI risk forum to horizon-spot the emerging technologies and will continue to collaborate to share learn lessons, embrace innovation and foster continuous improvement.

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