- Protective Shield: System includes pre-contact alerts, a graduated warning response matrix, an engineered interlock override, a manual tight-space override, and rapid retrofittability.
- GoUpSafely (GUS): Uses field detection, smart motion isolation, potential DC upgrades & updates, dynamic distance mapping, no signal interference, solar-assisted battery life and has a mobile app.
Protective Shield and GoUpSafely (GUS) are two patented safety equipment products developed by Protective Engineered Safety to eliminate severe workplace accidents. The equipment does this by overriding machinery controls and detecting nearby hazards. The Protective Shield system deals with physical obstruction hazards, while GoUpSafely (GUS) protects operators from high-voltage electrical fields. But how do they work, and how can they fit into your business?
Protective Shield
The Protective Shield system is a smart secondary guarding system with proximity detection. Protective Shield is specifically designed for Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs), cherry pickers, scissor lifts, and underground baskets.
Unlike traditional secondary guarding that relies on physical contact, such as waiting for an operator’s body to be forced against a pressure bar to shut down the machine, the Protective Shield EWP proximity detection system uses ultrasonic sensors to create a virtual ultrasonic bubble. These sensors continually scan the environment around the operator’s basket, sounding an alarm if a nearby hazard is detected and locking down the operator’s control if they get too close to an object. This means no collision occurs.
- Pre-contact alerts: Protective Shield delivers these alerts using military-grade ultrasonic technology. This technology allows locating objects around the basket with no need for physical touch – or a physical collision!
- Graduated warning response matrix: This is where Protective Shield provides progressively more intense audio-visual alerts to operators as physical hazards such as tunnel beams, roofs, or walls gradually draw closer. These alerts include a graduated matrix of onboard LED indicator lights, paired with a high-decibel acoustic siren that gradually ramps up.
- Engineered interlock override: If warnings are ignored and the system detects an imminent collision, this safety feature automatically disengages active machine motion before a shear, crush, entrapment, or other accident occurs.
- Manual tight-space override: When needed, operators can navigate through known, pre-mapped tight spaces at a controlled, safe speed, overriding the interlock override that would otherwise constantly detect a collision and halt the vehicle.
- Rapidly retrofittable: Protective Engineer Safety’s modular hardware is designed for rapid deployment, installing onto your existing fleet equipment in under 45 minutes. There’s no need for you to worry about asset downtime!
GoUpSafely (GUS)
GoUpSafely (GUS) is a safety system that gives operators full aerial high-voltage protection. Fitted on cranes, excavators, tipper trucks, and boom gates, GUS identifies threats from live electricity before your machinery touches the wire. It does this using highly targeted electromagnetic field (E-Field) sensors that can detect alternating current (AC) power lines from 415 V to 500kV.
- Field detection: This feature scans and measures the electrical fields emitted by high-voltage AC overhead power lines to protect operators from electrical hazards such as line strikes, electrocution, and grid damage.
- Smart motion isolation: When an operator is moving towards the power line, motion intervention automatically locks out the directional controls while keeping safe exit paths for moving away from the hazard fully operational.
- DC upgrades & updates: Engineers are currently expanding GoUpSafely’s capabilities to include direct current (DC) track detection, alongside other ongoing software updates. This means GUS will soon protect operators from electrical hazards across international rail networks.
- Dynamic distance mapping: Unlike Protective Shield, GUS detects more than proximal dangers. GoUpSafely’s electricity detection ranges are flexible, spanning from 200 mm to 10 metres. This detection distance depends on the strength of the voltage source – higher voltages prompt earlier alerts.
- No interference: Thanks to Protective Engineered Safety’s proprietary 900MHz ISM band, their custom wireless hardware communicates smoothly and clearly, with no interference from electronic devices like on-site two-way radios or mobile phones. So, you have two ways to stay safe.
- Solar-assisted battery life: With an IP67 waterproof rating and the ability to withstand all-round rugged environments, the main GoUpSafely sensor pods operate for more than 30 days on battery backup only. And this is without the included solar panels, which provide continuous trickle charging for an even longer battery life.
- Mobile app: GUS has a companion mobile app for iOS and Android that provides live site logs. A site manager can review event logs, view real-time diagnostics, and proactively adjust sensitivity profiles to improve workforce behaviour and compliance.
Site safety no longer has to rely on reflexes alone. Smart engineering safety systems like Protective Shield and GoUpSafely now enable us to protect our lives and assets with an automated safety net that works far better than the mere reactive alarms of the past. Choose machines with protective equipment such as Protective Shield and GUS installed for the best possible site safety.
To see how our safety systems and other equipment can strengthen your site’s protection and compliance, contact HSE Pacific today or call 1800 HSE PAC for expert guidance.