Highlighting hazardous assets

Continuing technology advances are making lives safer and easier in virtually every industry. The development of augmented reality GIS solutions is providing additional safeguards in the management of hazardous assets, and preventing accidental excavation and the potential for subsequent personal injury and property damage.

Safety is a primary concern for all utilities, especially those possessing potentially hazardous assets. Many utilities frequently stress the importance to be mindful when dealing with situations where dangerous assets may be contacted, such as in the case of accidental excavation by contractors completing other works. However, while members of the workforce may read these warnings on their computers at home or work, there is no guarantee the information will be at the forefront of their minds when they go out into the field and start digging.

Accidental excavation of assets such as high-voltage cables and high-pressure gas mains can cause substantial property damage, injuries to workers and members of the public, and even fatalities. Despite these dangers, accidental excavation is still far too frequent. Therefore, innovative ideas are called for in order to ensure workers and members of the public are as safe as possible. Greater knowledge is the key to greater safety and knowing the location and nature of potentially hazardous assets is vital.

An augmented reality GIS solution, such as Augview, already improves safety by visualising the position of assets using the most up-to-date information from different sources. However, it can also take safety warnings a step further when required. It enables a range of customisable options for organisations, in order to ensure that workers receive and register critical warnings about potentially dangerous assets in the field when and where they need them.

In a recent instance, an infrastructure services provider responsible for water assets wanted to make its dangerous assets more visible to workers. The Augview program was customised to make the asset owners’ high-pressure gas mains and high-voltage gas pipes flash and glow in the augmented reality view, so they would immediately grab the user’s attention. Additionally, the local electricity distributor was concerned that despite labelling areas with incomplete asset data with disclaimers and warnings, no-one would read or pay attention to them. So a warning triangle was created to appear on the screen in these areas. The warning ­­- Caution! Data will be inaccurate and incomplete! - must be acknowledged before it will disappear and allow the user to continue using the program.

For every potential hazard, a tech solution can be customised in order to improve safety and keep workers aware and informed. Augview’s commitment to innovation ensures development of solutions which will make the application - and the working environment - safer for the operators out in the field every day.

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Anna Rzepkowska