Zonegreen

Zonegreen are by far the market leader in the provision of rail depot personnel safety, specialising in the delivery of intelligent technologies to offer protection from dangerous environments in a safe and efficient manner.

An unrivalled reputation for quality, safety and reliability has been built by the Sheffield based safety specialists. The team of expert engineers at Zonegreen have achieved this reputation by developing an impressive range of intelligent technologies to offer safety related products and innovative planning of train maintenance operations. Continued research and development projects have ensured that Zonegreen longevity and reputation as a global leader in depot safety systems.

Whilst the companies enduring success is predominantly credited to its Depot Personnel Protection System (DPPS^TM), the firm has also brought a successful range of complimentary products to market, including interlocking solutions, Points Converters, railway maintenance planning applications and out-of-gauge warning systems. These systems are installed worldwide and can be used in sectors as diverse as transport, petrochemicals and aerospace.

Depot Personnel Protection System (DPPS^TM)

The Depot Personnel Protection System, Zonegreen’s flagship system, that is specialised and designed to ensure the safe and controlled movement of rail vehicles into and out of depots, so that maintenance operations can be conducted without endangering staff or the depot infrastructure, has recently undergone a complete overhaul. A wealth of additional features have been added to this latest version of DPPSTM, which has been under development for six years and cost many thousands of pounds to bring to market. Zonegreen’s SMART DPPS™ is highly advanced, state-of-the-art and incorporates intelligent, distributed communication technology, as well as electronic personnel datakeys to uniquely identify staff working in different safety zones. The Zonegreen’s SMART DPPS™ allows the user to:

• Login from any convenient point of access using a unique personnel datakey, replacing the need for padlocks
• Easily identify personnel who are logged onto different roads
• Interlock with other third-party equipment/systems to prevent unsafe movement
• Protect working staff and other interlocked equipment from vehicle movement
• Capture personnel logon/logout and movement history for future audit purposes

Additionally, Zonegreen depot manager software provides an overview of the status of the DPPS™ and personnel logged on.

Points Converter for Powering Manual Points

The Zonegreen Points Converter allows the automation and remote operation of manual hand point switches and rail road crossings, increasing railway depot and workshop safety. Benefits of powering your manual points

• Enhanced safety by reducing the potential for slips, trips and falls
• Mitigation of manual handling injuries by automating the pulling of manual points.
• Expandable: routes can be pre-set, re-configured and upgraded at any time
• Traceability includes an event logging system that allows the depot manager to keep a record of the points operation
• Low cost
• Simple to operate

The Zonegreen Points Converter system comprises two parts:

• Point Conversion Machine: a point conversion machine is attached to an existing manually-operated switch without compromising the integrity of the existing mechanism. It does not require any civil works or changes in the operating procedures to be installed. Each converter can be used as a standalone or multiple units can be installed and operated together with routing.
• Radio Remote Operator’s Controller: in the form of either an intuitive handset that allows the operator to remotely control the points system, Or a centralised graphical user PC interface that offers route planning and visualisation. Both operators can be used in a route selection mode, whereby one command can operate several points and crossings simultaneously

Train Maintenance Planner

The planning of train maintenance operations is still commonly conducted on whiteboards located in operation control rooms, detailing which train units require servicing, maintenance tasks, as well as expected arrival and departure times. These are updated manually either in a tabular form or on top of a graphical layout representing a bird’s eye view of the depot. Zonegreen’s operator planning suite, as a multi-user, web-based graphical task planning application, is a cost-effective replacement of the whiteboard. It consists of two main views: a graphical layout representing the depot on which users can position trains and create and assign maintenance tasks, and a tabular layout to plan trains’ scheduled arrivals and departures. The train maintenance planner function of the depot manager allows staff to:

• Plan train-unit maintenance activities
• Easily visualise train locations in graphical layout
• Accurately update and synchronise maintenance information
• Share and disseminate maintenance information to different locations in a convenient way
• Capture maintenance activities and generate reports, reducing the manual tasks of filling in maintenance forms and paperwork

Safety Interlocking Systems

The concept of interlocking has been applied to create increasingly sophisticated systems with the potential to prevent personal injury or costly damage. Our engineers have developed highly sophisticated safety interlocking systems in train depots that prevent unauthorised movements of trains, thus protecting injury or death to personnel and damage to other trains and equipment in the depot. Additionally, we manufacture internal interlocking systems that prevent danger when personnel try to circumvent safety measures. This, in turn, reduces the risk of damage to equipment. Zonegreen has developed a safe system of work that absolutely prevents access to high level access platforms by means of a fully guarded stairway and interlocked gate that can only be opened with a key that is released from a control panel when the OLE is locked and earthed. The sequence of unlocking and removing keys that, in turn, allow other keys to be released, ensures prohibition of access to areas unless they are safely isolated and earthed. This interlocking system is vastly superior to a ‘permit to work’ system that is only reliable provided that everyone in the loop strictly obeys the rules.  It is also possible to interlock third party equipment.

Depot Safety-Related Equipment

Zonegreen offers a range of depot safety-related equipment for depots, including but not limited to:

• Ground position signals
• High level or pit warning beacons – static or flashing
• Klaxons
• Speed indication detectors
• Stop and proceed boards
• Electronic wheel-detect switches (treadle switch)
• Portable warning systems

Maintenance and Installation Works at Rail and Tram Facilities

Zonegreen is now able to undertake additional servicing maintenance and installation works at rail and tram maintenance facilities (IRSE installers) in addition to its normal servicing of depot personnel protection and interlocking systems. Zonegreen now offers the following:

• Points / switches
• Track circuit renewal (IRSE licensed)
• Signal including axle counters
• Cable testing (SMTH standards)
• Barrier systems
• AWS & TPWS systems