Pointing Depot Staff to Safety

Combine this with the requirement to walk significant distances, across uneven terrain, next to live third rail often in the dark, in sub-zero temperatures and it becomes unimaginable.

However, such activities make up the daily routines of rail depot shunters. Traversing down the tracks over sleepers and other obstacles, avoiding the moving trains and the threat of electrocution, to get to each manual hand point that requires setting before a train can enter or leave the rail depot. It is with this in mind, not surprising the RSSB Annual Health & Safety Report 2021 – 22 reported that slips, trips and falls are the greatest hazard in terms of risks faced by staff in yards, depots and sidings.

The occupational health risks for the shunter do not end on reaching the manual hand point. It is there that they are required to pull the point leaver, which research has found can require the use of a peak force in excess of 103kgf, often in poor conditions on uneven surfaces. Such activities pose the risk of lasting damage to the back, neck or shoulders, which not only causes the employee suffering and lost working days, but could also lead to a more serious accident.

Whilst thankfully more serious accidents are not commonplace in depots and sidings, there have been three fatalities in the last five years. This, combined with the fact that depots and sidings account for 22 per cent of all RSSB recorded injuries in the most recent annual report, highlights the real occupational risk that is present and has contributed to the increased focus on depot safety since the RSSB report.

Solving the problem

One of the simplest ways to improve safety is to remove individuals from dangerous situations. Recent advances in technology now offer the opportunity to reduce the dangers faced by shunters, with the implementation of systems such as Zonegreen’s Points Converter.

The system has been designed to increase railway depot and sidings safety, allowing the automation and remote operation of manual hand point/switches. It can be controlled by an operator using a remote handset or central computer system, removing the need for an individual to have to negotiate difficult terrain, rails or other potential hazards, thus minimising the risk of slips, trips and falls. Such a system allows the shunter to operate the points from a safe distance, thus reducing risk and lowering the accident rate.

As well as assisting in the prevention of such accidents, the Points Converter also greatly reduces the significant physical strains that shunters face with regards to operating points manually and the lasting damage this can have on the body, particularly the back and neck, by automating the process.

Pointing Southsea in safe direction

Increasingly, depot operators are recognising that action is needed and the latest to address the dangers hand points present is South Western Railways at Southsea Depot in Portsmouth. working with contractors Balfour Beatty, Sheffield-based rail safety experts Zonegreen have installed a Points Converter on the HP01 point to control vehicle movements in and out of its sidings roads.

The installation allows the point at Southsea to be controlled remotely by an intuitive post-mounted key switch panel, located on a walkway around 100 metres away. The innovative technology enables the hand switch to be operated without staff needing to walk out next to the tracks; reducing the risk of slips, trips and falls on uneven terrain adjacent to the live third rail and manual handling injuries.

The system is futureproofed, enabling Southsea to add further converters if required and includes an event logging feature that allows the depot manager to record the point’s operation, for reporting and traceability.

Zonegreen Points Converter installations are tailored to the client’s needs and are fully expandable. Routes can be pre-set and reconfigured or upgraded at any time. They are a low cost, easy to use means of adding power to existing hand points, without incurring the expense of a full signaling conversion.

Tel: 0114 230 0822

Visit: www.zonegreen.co.uk

Twitter: @zonegreen