In collaboration with Lynch, Safety Shield's development team took 'Thumbs Up' a step further and digitalised the procedure, taking site safety to a new level
At Safety Shield, fostering a culture of site safety has always been our number one priority. As we continue to research and develop new technology, keeping construction people safe is always at the forefront of our minds.
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Lynch Plant Hire
People-plant interface remains the most significant fatal risk within the construction industry. The HSE reported this to be the most common cause of fatal accidents to workers in 2021/22, with 10% of all fatalities resulting from workers being struck by moving vehicles. The digital transformation era has arrived, with the construction sector seeing a significant acceleration in technology adoption. Through collaborative research and design, Safety Shield, in partnership with Lynch Construction, has built upon the established industry-known safety procedure ‘thumbs up’ and digitalised it.
Reducing the risk of injury and making sites safe has been the overarching goal on this journey, and this innovation helps us to do exactly that. We are proud to be raising the bar and hope this technology will be adopted and rolled out across the industry to ensure that everyone goes home safe from work every day.
At a Glance
Client
University of Nottingham/GSK
Client
University of Nottingham/GSK
Client
University of Nottingham/GSK
Client
University of Nottingham/GSK
Client
University of Nottingham/GSK
The Problem
Within a recent product review forums session, Lynch was challenged by John Marley (Senior Works Superintendent, SCS JV) to digitally enhance the traditional ‘thumbs up’ procedure.
The adoption of digitalisation is accelerating across the industry, with the workforce of the future consisting of digital adopters who are already harmonised with technology. However, we recognise that gaining buy-in for technology adoption amongst the older workforce can be challenging, hence we wanted to create a simple model that was an extension of an established, industry-known safety procedure.
Rob Lynch, Director at Lynch Construction, pioneered the original ‘thumbs up’ gesture which has been largely adopted by our industry and used on sites across the UK for over a decade. Certain site activities occasionally require personnel to enter the red zone. The traditional ‘thumbs up’ procedure involves a pedestrian signalling to the operator with a thumbs up that they’d like to enter the working area. The operator responds by disabling the machine then lifting the deadman handle which locks all the controls on the machine. The operator then gives a ‘thumbs up’ back to the pedestrian to indicate it’s safe to approach. However, an internal review of our health and safety processes and procedures revealed the need for improvements to the existing current procedure.
We recognised that in poor visibility, such as during winter months when there are fewer daylight hours, or poor weather conditions, a ‘thumbs up’ from an operator could be misinterpreted by site personnel. Moreover, we appreciate that not all individuals attending sites, particularly office staff and external stakeholders, will have received ‘thumbs up’ or red zone training and therefore will be unaware of the processes and procedures involved. These challenges had been identified as significant health and safety concerns, requiring immediate attention.
The Solution
In countering these challenges, and in collaboration with Lynch, the Safety Shield Development Team looked at how we could take ‘thumbs up’ a step further and digitalise the procedure, taking site safety to a new level.
The ‘thumbs up’ system is simple and universally known. It was imperative that we didn’t overcomplicate the procedure – our goal was simply to enhance and bring it into the digital age. The simple model involves the operator pressing a button in the cab that triggers the sign illumination to change from a red ‘no entry’ to a green ‘thumbs up’. This is accompanied by an audible message from an inbuilt speaker saying, “Thumbs up accepted, approach with caution”. At the same time, the controls are disabled and made safe for the approaching person.
This digital concept provides site personnel with absolute certainty that it’s safe for them to enter the red zone. In addition to telling and informing the individual when they can safely approach, this innovative technology will also inform them of where to approach safely, with the LED ‘shield’ highlighting the area of direct vision for the operator, where they do not need to rely on mirrors or cameras.
Our ultimate goal with this new safety feature is to reduce the fatal risk of people-plant interface entirely, creating injury-free work sites where everyone goes home safe, every day. The ‘Digital Thumbs Up’ system supports this goal, adding an extra layer of safety, providing both the operator and pedestrian with peace of mind that it is absolutely safe to enter the red zone.
Testing and production
Extensive research and testing went into the development of the new ‘Digital Thumbs Up’ system to ensure best fit with our vision, with a detailed prototype of each component manufactured by Safety Shield and tested in real world conditions for functionality and design. For instance, following a detailed consultation with construction industry stakeholders, Safety Shield developed the specifications for the LED shield case and electronics with fabrication experts. Working with specialist lighting partners, we were able to develop custom LED chip specifications, IP ratings, CRI ratings and colour temperature to suit the requirements of the installation.
Implementing the new technology
The adoption of digitalisation is accelerating across the industry, with the workforce of the future consisting of digital adopters who are already harmonised with technology. However, we recognise that gaining buy-in for technology adoption amongst the older workforce can be challenging.
To this end, we make it clear through Toolbox Talks and training, that normal red zone procedures will still apply. For example, site personnel will provide a ‘thumbs up’ and wait for the machine to come to a stop, and the plant operator will still manually immobilise the machine as they would have done so previously. The only additional step for operators will be to press the ‘Digital Thumbs Up’ button in the cab, with site personnel checking for the green ‘thumbs up’ light and listening for the audible alarm.
The ‘Digital Thumbs Up’ has already been installed on over 300 Lynch machines on sites nationwide.
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