A.R. Richards
A Shropshire based waste management company with Fastview360 solutions for their whole fleet of waste disposal trucks.
As a leading infrastructure services company specialising in highway maintenance and other large projects, FM Conway delivers vital services in transportation, the built environment and open spaces for communities and businesses.
Whether working on small maintenance schemes or large-scale civil engineering projects, FM Conway’s vision is to bring clear thinking, innovation and efficiency to challenges. Backed by over 60 years of experience, the company prides itself on being an industry leader, especially in recycling and reuse.
With such longevity in the industry, FM Conway understands the importance of worker safety when delivering successful projects and is committed to improving standards where possible.
To achieve this, the necessary tools and technology are needed to prevent harm to workers and create a safer environment. However, as sites grew busier and more complex machinery and vehicles were introduced, FM Conway knew it was time to enhance its current video security operation to improve worker safety. To this end, it turned to its trusted security technology partner, Fastview360, who have a long-standing relationship with FM Conway.
For years, Fastview360 has provided security technology and services to FM Conway, including advanced onboard vehicle and site video security. To address its current challenges, FM Conway sought help from Fastview360 to source a suitable
video security solution.
Busy sites pose safety risks
Of FM Conway’s main operating sites, nine are aggregate and asphalt (A&A) sites and are busy day and night. Here, asphalt and materials are delivered, produced and collected daily by hundreds of vehicles. The asphalt is then supplied to other ongoing highway and infrastructure projects.
Protecting and improving worker safety is difficult at busy sites that operate 24/7. FM Conway’s safety and security teams need to be able to continuously observe staff movement and vehicles and machinery in operation to maintain safety. Missing a hazard, a work vehicle going the wrong way or workers not wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) could have significant consequences, including workplace injuries and reputational harm.
While all nine A&A sites have video security systems, they could not provide the instant hazard detection and alerts that FM Conway requires. FM Conway’s ability to observe real-time site activities, mitigate risk and prevent accidents needed improving. The company’s security technology integrator, Fastview360, identified
these improvements and understood they required resolution to help FM Conway enhance safety.
Complex video security operation
FM Conway’s safety and security teams work with different video security systems and software across its nine sites. The disparate network of systems and lack of centralization made it challenging to manage and troubleshoot issues. Additionally, security capabilities and protocols were inconsistent, making it time-consuming to access the systems and costly to operate.
A centralized video security operation would enable FM Conway to manage all aspects from its headquarters in Sevenoaks, England. This would help improve operational efficiency, resilience and integration with existing IT infrastructure. With support from Fastview360, FM Conway sought to implement a system to simplify
its setup.
Fastview360 PPE AI analytics integration
Fastview360 integrated its PPE AI Analytics technology with the Alta Video deployment to help improve adherence to safe working practices. Fastview360’s PPE analytics checks for workers wearing PPE. With this capability, FM Conway’s safety and security teams are automatically alerted to PPE violations, such as workers without a high-visibility vest.
After consulting Fastview360 and working with the safety, health, and environmental compliance (SHEC) team, FM Conway chose Motorola Solutions’ Avigilon Alta cloud based technology suite for greater safety and to centralize its operations under one scalable system to manage processes efficiently. This comprehensive security suite encompasses a range of versatile video security and access control products and services, including VMS, cameras, video infrastructure and more.
As part of the unified ecosystem of physical security technologies, the Fastview360 installed a range of cameras across the FM Conway sites, including:
• Dual head cameras
• IR PTZ cameras
• Bullet cameras
With this solution, FM Conway benefit from the built-in AI video analytics technology to detect loitering, intrusion, unusual motion and other aspects that could affect worker safety which reports directly thought the Fastview360 near-miss platform.
FM Conway integrated some of its existing third-party cameras using the Alta Cloud Connector. This cost-effective approach eliminated the need to replace all its cameras and extended smart search technologies, proactive threat detection and real-time notifications to its existing hardware.
A safer working environment
With the Avigilon Alta system and the integrated PPE AI analytic solution, FM Conway receives instant alerts via the Fastview360 near-miss portal, to critical events that require immediate attention and response, ranging from a worker loitering next to an operating vehicle, PPE violations or vehicles going the wrong way.
PPE analytics integration with Fastview360 and Alta can also produce reports on near-miss events and identify specific trends on worker safety, such as the level of PPE compliance when managers are not onsite in the evenings. These reports are then shared with FM Conway for further analysis and action.
Additionally, FM Conway uses data visualizations, including Heatmap analytics, to understand people and vehicle movement across its sites. This is particularly beneficial for analysing safe walkways. If workers are found to be straying off these safe paths, the site manager will be notified so corrective action can be implemented and safety improved.
Furthermore, the cloud-based camera system enhances FM Conway’s and Fastview360’s ability to gather comprehensive site data and evidence by capturing vehicular information for tracking and identification purposes. Should a vehicle go the wrong way or be involved in an unsafe event, the cameras can capture the registration plate information to identify the driver involved so that appropriate action and further training can be offered to stop a reoccurrence.
On-site teams also used the video security solution to maintain safety during regular site tasks, including pouring hot asphalt into the trucks. By watching the real-time video feeds, the team can correctly position the trucks to safely and efficiently complete the pouring process without damaging the vehicle or harming workers nearby.
Centralizing security, fortifying operations
Fastview360 worked with FM Conway’s IT team to manage the network side of its video security operations with added redundancy and resilience. This involved installing new internet lines, implementing firewalls and isolating the network.
Fastview360 and Alta helped achieve the overall goal of centralizing video security management at FM Conway’s headquarters in Sevenoaks. As a result, the organization has enhanced operational efficiencies, allowing for continued security operations and improved situational awareness through real-time alerts, leading to faster response times.
This proved particularly useful during one site shutdown around the Christmas holiday when a third-party company arrived onsite for unscheduled work. Thankfully, the site’s managers received real-time text message alerts from the Alta Video solution notifying them of the situation so they could quickly respond and address it.
FM Conway continues to deliver efficient and reliable operations across its infrastructure projects by creating a safer working environment for its employees. With greater situational awareness of activities, real-time alerts and valuable insights, the organization and its teams are well placed to help maintain safety and mitigate risks.
FM Conway is already looking to expand its technology ecosystem by leveraging the cloud-based access control solution and unifying it with the existing system to improve site security and restrict access to high-risk areas.
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