Introducing The Integrated Street Works Safety System

Robust plastic fencing & site monitoring system are 2 of the solutions in the new TfL lead Open Innovation programme: London RoadLab. The London RoadLab programme has been developed to enable the public sector to encourage innovation from companies of all sizes, including start-ups & SMEs. This year saw a number of up and coming companies develop solutions that enable safer, smarter and more inclusive ways of doing roadworks.

Oxford Plastics were selected to take part in the London RoadLab programme to create a fully integrated Street Works safety solution that works for the Utility companies, contractors & public.

As a result of the programme, Oxford Plastics have developed a new product to scale into the market, which highway agencies and utilities can purchase.

Steve Spencer, Thames Water’s chief operating officer, said: ‘This RoadLab challenge has been fantastic in introducing new ideas and we look forward to see them put into practice to benefit Londoners.’

Together, Oxford Plastics, Utility Partners and London Councils are taking large steps to eradicate deaths and serious injuries around Street Works & road works sites. The proposed solution from Oxford Plastics is the StrongFence & Oxford Asset Monitoring System, which aims to make public-facing worksites safer for both contractors & the public.

Michael Hurwitz, TfL’s Director of Transport Innovation, said: “London RoadLab is a completely new way of procuring for TfL and we’re delighted to see many new innovative solutions being produced from this programme, including the intelligent road barriers developed by Oxford Plastics designed to make roadworks safer.

“We’re working closely with partners across London to make the capital one of the world’s smartest cities and these projects all have the potential to make a real difference to the safety and efficiency of roadworks in London.”

The StrongFence barrier (anti-climb and non-conductive), Asset Monitoring system & EnduraSign constitute the integrated Street Works solution for temporary work sites in the capital.

Frequently work site failures are due to barrier related issues; such as fallen barriers and perimeter fencing being moved. In response to this, Oxford’s solution consists of 3 parts: StrongFence & StrongGate which are an advanced Chapter 8 fencing solution. This fencing solution is engineered to stay upright and in-position, in order to minimise broken perimeters.

Fallen or insufficient signage has been shown to be a significant issue around UK Street Works, which can lead to harm to the public. To solve this issue, Oxford Plastics presented the EnduraSign Xtra: it is made of a sophisticated plastic material created by award-winning designers, and is lauded as the most durable road works sign available to the Street Works market.

The Oxford Asset Monitoring System consists of a worksite camera system, asset monitoring sensors & an interactive portal where contractors can monitor their sites from afar.

Designed to give peace of mind to contractors, the Oxford Asset Monitoring System allows workers to keep an eye on their site and to receive SMS alerts when a site becomes insecure. Sensors, attached to gates & perimeter fencing, send an SMS alert to the Project Manager if someone walks into the site or a barrier falls over. This new technology means that site issues can be responded to quickly to remove & fix sudden hazards.

For more information on Oxford Plastic’s London RoadLab solution visit our StrongFence and StrongWall page.

For more information on London RoadLab visit: https://www.plexal.com/london-roadlab/