Understanding Railway Safety and its Past
Despite being a fundamental part of modern society, the railway sector is still one of the most dangerous industries to work in due to the high volume of hazards and working conditions. However, we’ve come a long way in safeguarding railway workers in the last 100 years.
From difficult terrain to moving trains, railway workers must always be vigilant and aware of the dangers that surround them, which is why it’s important to develop innovative technology that can help lighten the load workers must deal with when helping to construct one of the safest modes of transportation for passengers.
Railway safety 100 years ago
When it comes to safety within the railway industry, there are many improvements that must be made. However, the sector has come a long way since its early days more than 100 years ago. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, railway workers were barely granted any safety equipment and most companies would only go as far as putting up a cast-iron sign to warn workers of hazards. This led to an extensive amount of deaths; so many, in fact, that companies would often set up orphanages for children whose parents perished while working on the railway.
In the mid 20th century things began to change, railway companies began enforcing workers to wear protective equipment and many safety campaigns were created to raise awareness.
The future of railway safety
Although these campaigns and guidelines helped create a safer working environment, the fact remains that railway work is a dangerous job and many hazards cannot be overcome simply by wearing protective gear or being extra careful.
Fires that can occur due to faulty machinery or live-wire cables, are especially dangerous due to the open-air nature of the workplace. Modern technology, such as Ramtech’s WES3 and React wireless systems, can be ideal in preventing these incidents. WES3 was especially designed to reliably identify and alert people in case a fire were to break out in an open-air environment such as a work site. This technology can be game-changing in the Railway industry, safeguarding workers, passengers and construction as a whole.
With high-speed train infrastructure being built all around the world, preventing accidents from occurring during the construction process is crucial. Ramtech prides itself in developing technology that is specifically designed to mitigate these risks. By pairing the WES3 system with REACT, a cloud-based platform that combines state-of-the-art wireless technology, a user-friendly mobile phone app and browser management tool, Ramtech allows project managers some peace of mind as it accurately and effectively delivers alerts whenever it detects a fire on site.
In 2023, there were 1567 significant railway accidents in the EU. Although the number has been steadily decreasing since 2010, there are still hurdles and challenges to overcome. By embracing innovative devices like Ramtech’s WES3 and REACT systems, workers are not only granted an elevated level of safety but companies can also more effectively develop necessary infrastructure for a more sustainable world in the future.
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