Impact Tracker solutions for BMD’s barriers

Case Study: Impact Tracker providing timely and safe solution for BMD’s barriers

Project: Fitzsimons Lane Upgrade, Eltham & Templestowe
Contractor: BMD Group
System Used: Sentinel Impact Tracker
Period: Mid-2021

Project snapshot

Civil Contractors BMD are working on the Fitzsimons Lane Upgrade in Melbourne’s northeast. This project includes new traffic lights to replace roundabouts, upgraded intersections and changed bus lanes, designed to reduce congestion in peak periods, provide more reliable travel times, and make walking and cycling around the community safer.

As with many road projects, concrete safety barriers were installed along the shoulder of the worksite, complete with energy-absorbing end treatments. 

Road barriers are a must when working around traffic, to protect both workers on-site and passing motorists. However, when barriers become damaged, they are no longer effective and can become a safety hazard. 

When a vehicle accident occurs it causes either damage to the barrier itself or to the end treatment, which often takes the brunt of a crash. It is critical that the barriers or end treatment modules are replaced as soon as possible so that the integrity of the barriers can be maintained. 

The situation

On the morning of 2 August 2021, an impact occurred involving an Absorb-M installed in a construction zone on Fitzsimons Lane. 

An impact to the end treatment, deformed the Absorb-M precisely the way it is designed to behave on impact. Absorb-M absorbed energy from the impacting vehicle and dissipated it to lower the severity of impact, while also ensuring protection from the concrete road barriers.

So, the Absorb-M performed as it was designed, but was now rendered ineffective and needed to be repaired, fast. 

The result 

As the BMD team had installed a Sentinel Impact Tracker on the Absorb-M unit, an immediate alert was sent to the project team who were able to respond on-site and rectify the damaged unit within just a few hours.

Muneem Alam, Engineer at BMD Constructions in Hawthorn East is very pleased with the result. 

“One of our end treatments was hit and we were notified immediately. Thank you for your assistance in setting this product up on our project. It has saved us a lot of time and hassle and we are extremely grateful that the product has worked successfully.”

The Sentinel is a small GPS tracker for barriers that is fixed to assets in the field such as Guardrail Terminals and end treatments. Designed to measure impact force, it provides an instant SMS or email alert to the barrier owners, so that a team can be sent to fix or replace the barrier as soon as possible.

How the Sentinel Impact Tracker works

Traditionally, contractors and road authorities have been reliant on the public or workers nearby to report impacts or damage to end treatments. This can mean that ineffective and dangerous damaged end treatments are left in place for days or even weeks before a repair crew is notified and dispatched to fix the issue. 

With the Sentinel smart tracking device on board, asset owners are notified of a crash immediately via email and SMS. 

This compact tracker can be fixed to crash barriers, cushions, attenuators and end treatments to give real-time status reports. It is linked to a mobile app and provides immediate 24/7 notification of impacted crash cushions, signs, guardrails, and other roadside devices, allowing repair crews to quickly respond. 

With the Sentinel's asset tracking and management capabilities, asset owners can track and record the installation date, manufacturer's make and model, site location, installer's information, impact and inspection history – all viewable from a PC or mobile device. Alerts can be sent to multiple cell phones and devices, giving the exact location of the impacted device. 

The Sentinel requires a subscription plan, starting with a basic 5 user plan that offers basic reporting and email support, through to a 20 user plan with enhanced reporting and additional features. 

Please contact Ben Lorne on 0436 638 792 or ben.lorne@jaybro.com.au in our safety barrier team for more information on subscription options and advice on how to set up the Sentinel for your assets.