Evaluating the effectiveness of proximity warning systems on waste management sites

Proximity Warning Systems (PWS), such as SensorZone, have become increasingly popular on waste management sites due to the high risk of accidents and injuries in such environments. GreenWaste, one of the largest waste and recycling organisations in the United States, have recently begun rolling out SensorZone across a number of their largest facilities in California.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at the effectiveness of proximity warning systems on waste management sites.

Firstly, it is important to note that waste management sites are hazardous environments where workers are exposed to various risks, including moving machinery and a busy working environment. This makes it crucial to implement measures to ensure the safety of everyone on-site.

Studies carried out have shown that having a proximity warning system installed can significantly reduce the number of accidents and injuries on waste management sites. For example, a study conducted by the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) found that PWS reduced the number of accidents involving pedestrians by up to 90%. This study also found that the system reduced the severity of accidents that did occur, as the warning system gave workers and operators more time to react and take evasive action.

A study conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found that PWS reduced the number of backing accidents involving waste collection vehicles by up to 70%. This study also found that PWS reduced the number of collisions between waste collection vehicles and other vehicles.

Proximity Warning Systems have also been found to improve the overall safety culture on waste management sites – something seen following the SensorZone deployments at GreenWaste. By implementing SensorZone, employers demonstrate a commitment to worker safety, which leads to increased awareness and compliance with safety procedures among workers. Additionally, PWS can be integrated with other safety systems, such as telematics, to provide a comprehensive safety solution. This is the case with SensorZone, which comes with the cloud-based Insights Platform to give you a greater level of detail on safety on your site.  

A common limitation levelled at proximity warning systems is that they may not be effective in certain situations, such as when workers are obscured by large piles of waste or when the sensors are blocked by other equipment. SensorZone, however, is an RFID tag-based system, which means that it doesn’t require line of sight and can still detect workers behind objects and equipment.

Overall, proximity warning systems have proven to be an effective solution for improving safety on waste management sites and have been found to significantly reduce the number of accidents and injuries involving pedestrians, vehicles, and equipment.

With an increasing number of waste management sites in the United States deploying the SensorZone system, get in touch today to see how we can help you to improve safety on your site.