RSS Infrastructure

How RSS Infrastructure implemented Tended’s geofencing Wearables to help protect workers conducting essential maintenance

Company background

RSS Infrastructure offers infrastructure solutions for rail, civil engineering and utilities and serves clients such as Network Rail, HS2, Midland Metro Alliance, as well as several Tier 1 and 2 contractors.

Receiving a Principal Contractors Licence (PCL) from Network Rail, the company operates as a principal contractor in the UK rail sector, enabling them to take on larger, more complex rail projects. They offer a variety of services for rail including track maintenance, vegetation management, civils, construction and Signalling & Telecoms.

The successful PCL audit and award demonstrate the company’s technical capabilities and commitment to prioritising health and safety.

Challenges

RSSI needed a way to reduce the risk to its trackside workforce and make it as safe as possible for its teams to go to work. A recognised leader in railway safety, RSSI required a game-changing solution that would create safer work environments and protect its track workers.

Having assessed various solutions, RSS Infrastructure approached Tended to help them to deliver safer and more efficient projects. They selected Tended’s technology over other safety systems due to its simplicity and lack of extra infrastructure required, making the system incredibly quick to deploy.

Solution

‍Planning stage

‍Used in conjunction with a single line blockage, RSSI applied Tended’s system to help protect its workers when lifting and packing on-track ballasts to maintain the alignment of the railway and ensure safety.

The site access point and CESS were mapped separately to enable teams to enter site correctly and safely, and then walk to site or step into the CESS if needed. The safe zone was mapped out on the blocked line the maintenance work was taking place using Tended’s measurement tool. With the teams working next to an open line at speeds over 100 mph, this was set at an exact and safe distance of 2m from the adjacent open line.

Results

‍During the shift

‍When implemented onsite, the devices gave out an alert on four occasions, which helped to keep workers a safe distance away from the adjacent open line, potentially preventing an accident or near miss.

Following the success of this project, RSSI will continue to use Tended’s system to help protect its workforce, using it for future permanent way works.

Tended has several projects lined up with RSSI, specifically projects whereby teams are positioned next to an adjacent open line, for separated sites ofwork, and for teams working within possessions.

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Jason Fidoe, Technical Manager at RSSI commented on the project:

"The system was so quick and easy to set up, allowing us to create incredibly precise boundaries for our workers, ensuring they remained within safe work zones while performing essential trackside maintenance.

Observing just how quickly the device alerted when a worker stepped out of safe working limits helped put our minds at ease about teams working next to adjacent open lines. It was an especially hot few days, which is always a concern for our trackside teams as this can sometimes cause fatigue and disorientation; knowing that we had Tended’s technology to respond to any potential loss of situational awareness was very reassuring."

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