Keyo, Reduces collision risk to farm operatives

Keyo Agricultural Services Ltd is a top farming services company that provides specialty and agricultural services to food manufacturing businesses all over the UK. With over 50 years of experience, Keyo has built a reputation for providing premium service at an affordable price while also prioritizing welfare, compliance, and innovation.

Keyo’s clientele includes notable UK food manufacturers such as 2 Sisters, Moy Park, Avara, and Maelor Foods. As part of its service, Keyo’s employees travel to various farms across the UK that support the poultry industry.

Taking farm safety seriously

Accidents in the farming industry can have serious consequences, both for the workers and the business. Agriculture is one of the most dangerous industries in the UK, with a fatal injury rate that is over four times higher than the national average. (HSE)

The requirement 

At Keyo Agricultural Services Ltd, farming safety and animal welfare is a top priority. To maintain a peaceful and dimly lit environment, farms must keep noise and light to a minimum. When servicing customer farms, Keyo identified potential risks to personnel safety and sought a customized solution that could reduce the risk for operators and handlers while causing minimal distress to the animals. To achieve this, Keyo approached ZoneSafe to create a tailored safety solution that would enhance situational awareness and decrease the chances of vehicle/pedestrian incidents while preserving the welfare of the animals.

One of the main risks identified in the farms and entrance areas was the movement of vehicles, particularly forklifts, in low visibility. There was a need to alert handlers and vehicle operators when they were in close proximity without using standard audio and visual alarms that could distress the animals. As the Keyo team visits multiple farms in various locations every day, they needed a fully flexible and portable system that could be incorporated into their remote operational farming safety kit.

Solution and implementation

The first stage of the project was for the ZoneSafe team to gain a thorough understanding of the risks being faced and the limitations to implementing a system in the farm environment. ZoneSafe personnel travelled to various sites, working alongside the Keyo team onsite to gain hands-on experience.

It quickly became apparent that by thinking creatively, the ZoneSafe system could be applied in a new and innovative way. Farm vehicles were fitted with ZoneSafe technology and wearable vibrating tags were allocated to personnel. The system was designed to deliver an audio/visual alert at the site entrance and a pulsed vibration to individuals when in close proximity of a moving vehicle. The easy-to-use system was incorporated into a robust portable case that could travel with the teams to be installed at each location within minutes. Locating the alerts only at the entrance of sites ensured operators could be alerted to vehicle proximity without any need for excess noise or light that could cause distress to the animals.

The Result

The solution is now in place across all Keyo teams and all operational forklifts, with very positive feedback and results. The number of recorded incidents has been reduced significantly while users have been extremely positive noting that the technology is easy to operate, quick to set up and makes them feel safer at work. By housing the vibratags and alarms in a portable case, the technology can easily travel with the team to various locations.

Neil Wilson, Training Manager at Keyo, said, “ZoneSafe has a strong reputation as a safety solution in high-risk workplaces so we had confidence that they would be able to create a solution to meet our specific needs. We can certainly attest to the exceptional service we received from ZoneSafe. They were on hand every step of the way to support our team and have provided fantastic follow-up assistance.”

“The ZoneSafe system now forms an integral part of our company procedures, PPE and safety training program. We would highly recommend ZoneSafe and have already identified further areas within our operation where we will undoubtedly incorporate ZoneSafe systems in the future.”

To prevent accidents and protect workers, it is important to have effective safety measures in place. In particular the movement of vehicles, such as forklifts, in low visibility areas such as farms and entrance areas. Detection of people in these areas can be important in order to alert handlers and vehicle operators when they are in close proximity and reduce the potential for vehicle/pedestrian incidents.

For more information on ZoneSafe safety solutions, contact us today.