An innovative pilot scheme devised by Colas and development partners Solar and Electric Gates Ltd (S&EG) for the Joint Venture A-one+, will bring together the latest technology to improve the safety of hundreds of road workers across the UK.
The companies have worked together to develop an automatic gate system (Readi-Guard) that will step up safety for crews who are responsible for maintaining and improving some of the busiest motorways, initially in Area 7 but following keen interest from Highways England now being deployed in other areas across the UK.
Ryan Wood, Technical Manager at Colas said: "˜The TM Access Gate is a well though-out solution to an issue that poses considerable risk to our workforce and the wider traffic management community. Working with S&EG we have been able to develop a system that eliminates exposure to live traffic in situations when operatives are required to open works accesses. It is designed for ease of deployment and use in short term works but is equally suited to longer term work sites.'
Colas and S&EG joined forces to engineer the bespoke high-tech automatic gate system specifically to protect operatives as they work. The gates, which open horizontally to allow authorised vehicles into work areas, will safeguard workers so that manual operation is not required. The gates protect operatives from motorists who attempt to breach barriers and enter restricted work zones.
Dennis Gregg, Associate Director for Colas and A-one+ JV Board Member added: "˜A Traffic Management Operatives' workplace is amongst one of the most dangerous and vulnerable places to be and the behaviour of drivers in passing vehicles is an increasing problem. Abuse to road workers should not be overlooked and is unfortunately a regular event in their chosen career. A particular area of concern where both road worker and the public interact is at works access points which are required to be manually opened and closed to allow construction vehicles to enter and exit a site.
The innovative "˜TM Access Gate' removes the road worker from this exposure and creates a safer environment through the remote operation of access point therefore eliminating the potential for confrontation from members of the public.'
Safety is Colas' number one priority and this latest safety innovation reinforces the company's commitment to the safety of its operatives and ensures a safer working environment.
