Ineffective safety systems in the rail industry have resulted in avoidable fatalities and near misses with high-speed trains. Fatal incidents, including a rail worker killed earlier this year, and two who lost their lives near Port Talbot in 2019, are shocking and deeply distressing events that have high economic, societal and emotional impact.
While the industry has undergone a radical transformation in recent years, earning it the reputation of one of the safest and most reliable rail networks in the world, there has been minimal innovation in safety to protect its rail side workers.
Demand for rail transport is expected to increase by 58% over the next 10 years, and there is a focus on building bigger and better rail systems as well as continual maintenance and upgrade programmes. The people who carry out these essential works to maintain and renew our railways face a number of safety risks, including moving trains, exposure to high-voltage electricity and adverse weather conditions.
Current systems in place to ensure worker safety, which include the lookout warning safe system of work and equipment warnings are ineffective. Other methods for ensuring employee safety include communication equipment which depends on the technology working correctly. For example, Bluetooth and GPS can be corrupted by electronic interference, which can have severe implications for worker safety.
Tended is developing an innovative solution to address the pressing safety challenges that rail workers face. Combining our existing wearable safety technology with high-precision GNSS and sensor fusion, we can determine the exact location of track-side engineers. We can then notify users in real-time through haptic vibrations on the wearable if they stray onto a live track and into dangerous environments. This solution represents the first of its kind to transform track-side safety and bring it in line with the high performance standing from the other aspects of the industry.
This technology has the potential to be the key-stone solution behind Network Rail's new £70m task force and advance the safety of rail workers. Further, it will support the rail industry as it continues to deliver growth and essential services.
We envision a working environment where employees can focus on the task at hand with peace of mind, knowing that their safety is being reliably monitored. With innovative technology, we can help to boost efficiency and support this critical network.
As a safety technology company, Tended is committed to developing solutions to address some of the most pressing safety challenges that employers face with keeping their workforce safe.
The safety of both employees and the wider public has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Employers have a responsibility to protect their workforce and provide a safe working environment, especially during the current climate. An outbreak in their workplace can trigger a complete shut down while the virus is contained, which can be damaging to company reputation and put both employee and the general public's lives at an unnecessary risk.
However, it can be challenging for employers to ensure their workers are maintaining a safe distance, particularly if their workplace is not designed to keep people apart.
Tended has developed an innovative social distancing wearable that alerts users if they come within a set distance of their colleagues. Using ultra-wideband technology, this solution ensures high precision, which is vital for an effective solution. Tended is also developing additional features, including collision avoidance, hazard reporting and evacuation alarms. By expanding the solution to address further critical safety issues, Tended can support the longevity and value of our safety solutions, both during and beyond the COVID outbreak.
Tended's current social distancing solution is being trialled across different industries including utilities, logistics, manufacturing and construction, and requires connection to a smartphone. For this project, Tended will develop cellular functionality to remove any reliance on additional hardware. Not only will this improve the experience for the end user and support client needs, it will also increase uptake as social distancing can be maintained across working environments with different needs and challenges.
By reducing the hardware required, Tended will also be able to help to reduce the environmental impact, as 1.5 million tonnes of electrical waste is thrown away in the UK each year alone. Incorporating cellular functionality into our safety solution will ensure that no unnecessary hardware is required on a short-term basis, reducing our impact on the annual wastage.
Beyond reducing hardware waste, Tended has been able to re-shore our supply chain from China to the UK. This allows us to reduce the significant environmental impact associated with transportation, as well as giving greater visibility and control over safety standards and manufacturing wastage. Reshoring to the UK manufacturing industry also allows Tended to contribute to an industry that has struggled since the beginning of the outbreak due to a 26% to 50% fall in orders.
Tended is a personal safety technology company, specialising in developing intelligent solutions and wearables to improve employee safety.
Amid the current pandemic and the safety challenges that have emerged during these unprecedented times, Tended has identified a solution that can help businesses get back up and running, without compromising on the health and safety of their employees.
This solution comprises of the company's existing safety solution (a wrist-wearable device, online dashboard and mobile app) combined with an ultra-wideband proximity sensor to enable employers to effectively enforce minimum separation distances (MSD) in their workplace. It will be adapted from Tended's existing solution, which is currently being used to improve safety across industries, and offer an all-round solution to enable companies to regain productivity.
The technology works by identifying when employees are close to the MSD to within a <10cm accuracy. Their wearable will then vibrate to notify them to move away.
Employers can see an overview of their workforce through the online dashboard, which provides data on any MSD breaches and their duration. If an employee tests positive for the virus, they can notify their employer through the mobile app. The employer will then instantly receive a record of who they have been in contact with, and proactively let these workers know to self-isolate and get tested.
As well as giving companies the opportunity to restart their operations, this solution can offer their workers peace of mind when they head back to work.
"Tended is a personal safety technology start-up which develops intelligent systems and accident detection wearables to improve the safety of lone workers. The Tended Commercial project is being developed to support the 6 million lone workers in the UK and to provide employers with an all-round, effective safety solution for both mobile and site-based employees.
Using Bluetooth mesh technology and AI-powered wearable devices to detect accidents with high precision, Tended Commercial's systems can immediately send for help when an employee needs it most, reducing post-accident response time. The project will also contribute towards employers' legal and moral obligations for ensuring employee health and safety at work, not only in the UK but across Europe and the rest of the world.
It is an innovative project and one that will fill a huge gap in the market as existing lone worker solutions are associated with limited functionality, high costs and likeliness to send out false alarms and are therefore seldom implemented in businesses. With this project, Tended will develop a highly-beneficial solution that employers can easily integrate into their systems to improve workplace safety and offer lone workers peace of mind when carrying out their tasks.
Tended is working with some of the largest companies in the UK from a variety of different industries to ensure the solution developed over the next 18 months is perfectly suited for commercial applications, providing businesses with significant financial, regulatory and ethical benefits."