Automation and positioning technology supplier Aptella is supporting the rail sector with innovation in smart safety and wireless monitoring solutions.
Modern technology is making inroads to substantially increase safety in the rail industry, reducing the risk of human error with automated, continuous monitoring and artificial intelligence.
And helping this transition is Aptella, the company recently rebranded from its previous name of Position Partners.
The business’ Executive Marketing Manager, Gina Velde, said new name was designed to better reflect the variety of solutions and services the business offers.
“Our customers requirements have expanded beyond positioning into automation, robotics, safety and monitoring,” she said.
The last few years have seen rapid advances in cloud computing, data processing and internet coverage, enabling technology innovation across a range of industries.
“These benefit heavy industries such as rail in the ability to capture real-time information to prevent incidents, improve safety behaviours and monitor rail infrastructure and terrain for any out-of-tolerance movement that could signal a potential problem,” Velde said.
Pedestrian detection system PDS, proximity and collision awareness technology have particular relevance to rail projects, which include numerous hazards from trains and heavy machinery operating in close quarters with workers.
The latest systems no longer rely on wearable tags but instead incorporate vision-based artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically identify and alert operators to people.
For example, Blindsight is a unique solution distributed and supported throughout Australia and New Zealand by Aptella, that has the built-in smarts to identify people and other objects even in challenging, dynamic environments.
Aptella Civil Business Executive Manager Josh Allan said that Blindsight’s AI capability enabled it to protect all workers within defined zones of a machine.
“The great thing about blindsight is that workers do not need to wear a tag in order for the machine system to detect them, which keeps every worker and contractor safe on site,” he said.
“Often workers are required to work near a machine due to confined space on the sites – Blindsight can be configured to only alarm when it identifies a person in a particularly hazardous area, to avoid over-alarming which can actually increase risk because workers learn to ignore the alerts.”
The solution can be fitted to all makes and models of machinery, with a combination of two or more sensors, external voice alarm and a small in-cab alert that gives the operator audible and visual alerts when a person or traffic cone is detected.
Beyond on-site alerts to operators to prevent incidents, one of the more powerful benefits of Blindsight is its reporting capabilities to management.
With near real-time data being fed into its web-based dashboard platform, Blindsight helps give managers insight into on-site safety behaviours.
The system automatically records video footage from the machine’s on-board cameras when the alert is triggered, giving managers eyes on the site to be able to analyse the situation and make informed decisions to improve safety behaviours.
“Unfortunately, despite staff training and safety policies, spotters and other human-based approaches, people still make errors of judgement and put themselves at risk,” Allan said.
“Blindsight helps managers identify their own blind spots when it comes to safety, so they can proactively manage it for better outcomes.”
Another vital element of on-site safety is ensuring the stability and viability of the rail infrastructure and terrain, including embankments, tunnels, bridges and rail tracks and beds.
Andrew Jones manages Aptella’s deformation monitoring portfolio and explains that modern computing technology, coupled with solar energy, can enable continuous monitoring of any rail landscape at any scale.
“Traditionally, monitoring technology has relied on optical measuring systems, which are challenging to install and maintain in many rail applications, not to mention expensive at scale,” he said.
“Thanks to wireless communication and our ability to use solar energy, we can now monitor virtually any rail site of any size, around the clock for many years with little maintenance.”
Aptella has deployed Senceive wireless monitoring technology on numerous rail sites throughout Australia and New Zealand.
With a longstanding track record for major international rail networks including Network Rail and the London Underground in the United Kingdom, Senceive makes a wide range of sensors to measure for the slightest movement every few seconds.
Alerts can be configured to suit the tolerances and reporting requirements of the site, with tiered escalation of notifications to different stakeholders also available as needed.
“Because Senceive works continuously for many years, it reduces the need for engineers and surveyors to take manual checks or conduct regular maintenance and the fewer personnel on site the less risk there is,” Jones said.
Senceive also has the ability to give managers eyes on site, with integrated cameras that trigger when movement out of tolerance is detected.
This is particularly useful in remote or hard to reach areas, allowing for early assessment of the scene to help gauge the need to escalate it to an on-site visit.
With the rapid evolution of technology, Jones said there was much opportunity to predict what may happen next in addition to live monitoring.
“AI will help us with preventative monitoring by analysing large amounts of data and extrapolating it out to identify trends and model what the next few months might look like,” he said.
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