When you’re driving and
approach a traffic light,
a green light means you
can go and a red light means you must stop.
With that spirit in mind, one Saskatchewan
company has adopted an innovative idea
that will help the province’s flag people go
about their jobs in a safe manner and help
put a stop to tragic accidents.
Yorkton, Sask.-based Potzus Paving
& Road Maintenance Ltd. spent part of
2015 piloting its new Automated Flagger
Assistance Device (AFAD), a mechanically
operated flagging station resembling traf-fic
lights that is operated remotely by a flag
person situated in a location not directly
exposed to traffic.
In recognition of Potzus’ new tech-nology
that puts safety at the forefront
for Saskatchewan’s highways workers,
the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction
Association (SHCA) recognized the com-pany
with the 2015 Safety Innovation of
Excellence Award.
“It was an honour for our company to be
recognized by SHCA for safety and innova-tion,”
says Wayne Gurniak, a superintendent
at Potzus. “I’ve had the idea for this system
for a while and it didn’t take much to con-vince
the rest of the team to get on board.
This system has already shown that it has
the potential to save lives. If we can get peo-ple
on board with this, it may be the way of
the future.”
SAFETY INNOVATION
Automated
Safety
Potzus Paving & Road Maintenance Ltd.’s
innovative system puts flag person safety
at the forefront
By Pat Rediger
“This system has already shown that
it has the potential to save lives. If
we can get people on board with this,
it may be the way of the future.”
– Wayne Gurniak, Superintendent,
Potzus Paving & Road Maintenance Ltd.
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