Worker pinned by cargo container – How can a technological approach help in preventing such an accident?

Source: WSH Bulletin

WSH Council Bulletin has reported a case of “Worker pinned by cargo container” on March 11, 2020. A worker was pinned by a 20-foot container as the container was landed by the quayside-crane while working on a marine vessel. The worker succumbed to his injuries caused during the incident.

World of Safety & Health Asia Interviews Mr. Franck GAYRAUD from Blaxtair® to share about how similar cases can be prevented through the accessible solution in the safety & health industry.

Hi Franck! Greetings from World of Safety & Health Asia! We are interested in presenting your views with regards to the available solution in the industry based on how a similar case can be prevented; apart from the safe work procedures, guidelines, standards, and acts that the WSH Council had stated.

WSHAsia: Franck we would like to know more about you in this industry and also about what Blaxtair® does?

Franck: Blaxtair® is a Smart 3D camera that detects obstacles around the mobile plant and/or materials handling equipment. Thanks to AI-based human shape recognition, Blaxtair® differentiates between pedestrians in the designated detection zone and objects/obstacles, thus helping to avoid pedestrian collisions. Its unique technology will warn a driver only in case of danger, avoiding alarm fatigue and untimely stops. The adaptability and responsiveness offered by the Blaxtair® system allow the mobile plant to be used with minimal risk of collisions on industrial sites with the most demanding operating conditions. This innovative 3D camera is the result of a collaboration between Arcure and the CEA’s (note to editors: in France, the CEA is the Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) research laboratories and is considered the industry-leading, embedded detection system.

WSHAsia: What are the solutions that can be applied by Blaxtair® to prevent such cases from occurring?

Franck: A worker pinned by a cargo container is, unfortunately, a common accident in places that do not benefit from sufficient anti-collision technologies and good practices and organizational safety measures. In the fields of industry, logistics, public works, recycling, the plant-people interface presents significant risks of collision. With Blaxtair®, we have a long experience of equipping reach-stackers or cranes and other container handling machines in order to prevent collisions with pedestrians. Blaxtair® is an efficient and reliable answer to meet the safety demands of industry, logistics, handling, and dock work.

WSHAsia: How could the solution provided by Blaxtair® improve a workplace environment?

Franck: The Blaxtair® system, thanks to its artificial intelligence algorithms, has the ability to specifically detect pedestrians and thus brings the machine operator relevant protection by avoiding false alarms. Literally it allows industrial sites to implement and assure excellence in workplace safety.

Operators like the system because (and that’s the major difference with basic radars with no AI) it minimizes alarm fatigue by alerting only when there is a dangerous situation (too many alarms can become noise in the background) and it does not rely on a person wearing a tag, which can be difficult to police/control.

WSHAsia: In your opinion, how would a similar case be different if Blaxtair® was installed?

Franck: In such a situation, we install Blaxtair® sensor heads on the structure of the machine (here a crane) in order to cover entirely and monitor the blind spots for the operator. We configure the exact shape and size of the danger zone (the zone where Blaxtair® will be able to detect pedestrians). In the cabin, the operator has a monitor allowing a complete view of the blind spots and a sound/visual alarm device that will warn her/him in case of danger.

This Blaxtair® configuration allows the crane operator to have strong and relevant assistance to guide her/him from above, reduce stress, improve productivity and surely significantly reduce the accident rate within that sort of context.

WSHAsia: In your view, why is the industry still slow in adopting this solution in preventing similar cases?

Franck: Safety is a mindset, not an option. We can see a multitude of end-users trying to do the right thing for their people with respect to their activity and environment and the risk faced by all at all times. However, there’re hips of safety gears on the market, from “cheap-n’-cheerful” devices to high-end systems like Blaxtair® and I believe professionals can get lost in an ocean of information. It’s part of our job at Blaxtair® to provide machine operators with relevant facts and data about the safety and about the role new technologies can play in its improvement.

Local Authorities can also play a role in that matter, by assessing the relevance of different solutions and implementing regulations when possible. It’s beneficial to everybody because it
improves safety while aligning the cost impact of all players.

At Blaxtair®, we started from the blank page more than 10 years ago with the sole mission to reduce machine-people collisions in the workplace and with no assumption on what should be
the solution. We came up with an AI-powered 3D camera named Blaxtair® that became a standard on its market.

In the field, Safety is the result of 3 main factors, organization, training, and human-factor. Blaxtair® has now proven to be an efficient way to reduce the human-factor component among
the causes of accidents.

WSHAsia: We would like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. We hope that you continue spreading and sharing more safety and health solution in order to keep everyone safe.

Franck GAYRAUD
CEO of ARCURE S.A.
www.blaxtair.com, www.arcure.net