How Weston Analytics’ solution provided near real-time, zero friction tracking in the Severn Tunnel, enhancing safety during a critical 16-day project blockade.
In response to the needs of a key client, Location360 was used to provide near real-time tracking of people and assets within the Severn Tunnel.
Our solution was aimed to enhance safety and efficiency during a critical 16-day blockade for South Rail Systems Alliance (SRSA). This deployment monitored approximately 450 workers entering and exiting the tunnel, ensuring zero friction in tracking and safety management.
Challenges
South Rail Systems Alliance faced several significant challenges with their existing system for monitoring. Their primary issue was a labour-intensive manual process for recording worker activity in and out of the tunnel, which was proving too time-consuming and prone to human error. Their system was also unable to meet the client’s requirements for safety, and a new solution had to include the ability to perform immediate and accurate emergency roll calls, crucial for ensuring workforce safety in the event of an incident.
The client found other available systems to be too costly or unable to meet the project’s short implementation deadline, and so approached MacRail for help with a better solution, given their knowledge of the industry’s requirements.
The project’s tunnel environment also posed its own specific challenges for tracking technology, with its poor signal conditions and the impact this would have on delivering reliable data transmission.
Our Solution
Location360 was specifically designed to address these challenges by providing a reliable, automated tracking system. Initially, MacRail were contacted by SRSA to discuss if they had a tunnel access system, having provided a similar solution over a decade ago using technology designed for counting animals. Realising there was no-off-the-shelf solution to fit the project’s needs, the team at MacRail collaborated with sister company Weston Analytics, a technology services provider within Munnelly Group, to design a bespoke system from scratch to meet Colas Rail’s requirements.
The development of Location360 progressed rapidly to prepare for the 16-day blockade starting in early July, and also involved close collaboration with sister company Severn Partnership, resulting in a complete internal solution. Location360 is completely non-contact, and utilised tags to automate the recording of workforce movements, significantly reducing manual effort. These tags were allocated by MacRail’s site access for the duration of the project.
The value added by Location360 on this project was primarily on the safety front. In the event of an emergency, the system provided immediate access to accurate roll call reports, ensuring that the supporting control room team knew who was in the tunnel at any given time. The system was monitored by MacRail’s Site Access Controllers (SACs) on the front line, remotely by their 24/7 control room and by the software team at Weston Analytics. This comprehensive, managed process covered everything from installation to operational support throughout the duration of the project. Meeting the client’s specifications was crucial, but complete management of the service was just as important to allow Colas Rail to focus on project delivery.
Results
The implementation of Location360 provided significant benefits to SRSA. Automated tracking saved considerable time and reduced errors, allowing personnel to focus on critical tasks rather than manual record-keeping. The near real-time data enabled quick and accurate emergency roll calls, significantly enhancing worker safety.
As promised, Location360 continually ran throughout the entire project, providing client confidence in the case of emergencies. During the 16-day blockade, we allocated a total of 623 tags and captured over one million transactions in data.
SRSA were highly satisfied with the solution, recognising Location360’s effectiveness in meeting their specific needs. Their feedback highlighted potential upgrades they would like to use on future projects, and together, MacRail and Weston Analytics are already working on those developments. Location360 provided a robust, reliable and cost-effective tracking solution in a challenging environment. The successful deployment at the Severn Tunnel highlights Location360’s potential to transform tracking and safety practices in various industries, and be a scalable solution for many future projects.
“The tunnel access system at Severn Tunnel provided a much improved solution from other systems that we’ve used previously.
The automation of the act of tagging in and out of the tunnel removes a key step from each individuals’ part of the process. It ensures a meaningful register of persons located in the tunnel at any one time is available, in case of emergency.” South Rail Systems Alliance
