In this article, you'll learn about geofences and how they can be an added layer of protection for track-side safety. We'll also go through how to find your worksite and draw your safe zones. Let's dive in 👇
What is a safe zone? (geofences)
'Safe zones' are areas drawn within each site to indicate where it is safe to carry out work. They are also known as a 'geofence'.
When a Tended Wearable user steps out of a safe zone, their Wearable will alert to let them know to move back to an area of safety.
The drawing tool on the Dashboard makes the process quick and simple to map out your access points, walkways and areas of safety.
Please note: You must create a project before you can add your first site.
How to find your site
Before you can draw a safe zone, you'll need to find your site. We have a few tools built into site creation to make sure you can accurately locate where the work will take place.
You can search for a site via:
Address
ELR (Engineer Line Reference)
What3words
Latitude/longitude
Simply navigating around using zoom and mouse
Once you've found the rough area, you can toggle different features to help you check you're definitely in the right space. You can toggle on:
Engineer line reference view
Switch between map and satellite view
Miles and chains (this feature may not be available in all locations)
Hi-resolution map view (this feature may not be available in all locations)
Please note: You can also automatically draw safe zones. Check out our article here.
How to draw a safe zone manually
Log in to your Tended Dashboard.
Find your project and click "View Project" then click "Create site".
First, add the site details: name, start and end date and time. Click the sections to add the information.
3 Click into the "Site name" box and type the name of your site. This could be a day or project code, whatever follows process.
Click on the "Site start date" and "Site end date" boxes. A calendar will pop up to choose dates from.
Click on the "Site start time" and "Site end time" boxes. Choose the times from the drop-down list or typing.
Press "Next step" when you're happy.
Next, find your site.
Click on the search bar at the top left of the screen. Choose to search for your site by address, ELR, What3Words or latitude/longitude.
Additionally, toggle on map overlays: ELR and distances, HD images or track speeds can be viewed. Click the toggle icon, the third one down on the right side of the screen. Then, simply click the box next to your chosen view.
Once you're at the location, you can add your first safe zone. We recommend measuring out the distance from your unsafe area if needed first. For example, if you need to be 2m minimum from a live track. If you do not need to measure any distances, skip to 6.
Click on the 'Measure distance' icon from the left-hand side. This is third from the bottom and looks like a small ruler.
Click on the point you want to measure on the map, and click again when the ruler is at your desired distance and angle.
Repeat as many times as you need to ensure your entire safe area can be drawn at the correct distance away from an area of danger.
Tended Tip: We recommend you do this at regular intervals along a track edge, to ensure the best accuracy and follow curved track. You can then 'snap' your safe zone to these lines for quick safe zone creation.
Draw the safe zone. Click the first icon on the left-hand side (this is a triangle):
Click the map where you want to start your safe zone. You can keep clicking until you complete the shape by bringing it back round to your first point. If you've measured using the ruler tool, the points should 'snap' to the edge of these markers.
Once you're happy with your safe zone(s), click "Done" in the bottom right corner, and then "Save". You can edit safe zones up until the site goes live. Assigned Wearables will sync the changes when they are turned on. Read about assigning devices here.
Tended Tip: Need to make a safe zone that covers a long area? Create a series of smaller zones to control the shape and 'snap' the edges together, or try our automated geofencing tool.
Any questions or issues?
We're here to help! Simply pop us an email at support@tended.co.uk, WhatsApp us on 07713682625 or drop us a message via live chat from the blue bubble in the corner of this page or within the Dashboard 😊