Proximity alert system from Hexagon boosting site safety

Hexagon’s Leica Geosystems division is now offering an innovative proximity alert package that can help boost site safety. Site personnel and machines carry tags that are recognised by the system and can be identified in the back office. When a site worker comes into proximity with a machine or two pieces of equipment come too close, the system will provide an alert. The tag that the site worker carries will resonate, showing that the person is too close to a working machine. Meanwhile, the alert system in the machine cab will provide a warning to the operator that a person is in the vicinity of the piece of equipment, showing distance as well as direction. Magnus Thibblin, president of the machine control division at Hexagon explained, “The goal is to give the operator visibility of personnel around the machine.”

January 18, 2023 Read time: 2 mins

Hexagon’s Leica Geosystems safety proximity system

The system offers a range of up to 50m and within this, can be configured by the user with close, near and far alerts to suit the type of operation. This data is recoded in the cloud and Brad Mullins from the firm added, “You can see on a toolbox where there are conflicts.”

Application engineer Michele Costa said that event logging onsite is sent to the cloud and can be checked on a site map. This shows heat zones of conflicts, identifying machines or personnel and highlighting if there are issues to be resolved such as machines working too close together or obscured sightlines that prevent personnel or machine operators from seeing each other onsite for example. Similarly, for blasting operations on quarries, machines or personnel close to a planned blast can be warned in advance to ensure safety.