Planes, trains & automobiles

A-Safe is much more than a manufacturer of warehouse and factory safety barriers, it has successfully diversified into the broader transport industry as shown by a series of impressive contract wins

Safety barrier company A-Safe are renowned as one of the best providers of warehouse safety around. The Yorkshire firm's system, established in 1984, can be found in warehouses and distribution centres across the world.

Blue chip companies such as Mars, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Kimberley Clark, Proctor and Gamble and 3M to name but a few, come back to them time and time again because of how good their products are.

The A-Safe system is suitable to protect any application. A recent installation at Manchester Airport increased A-Safe's already glowing reputation on the aviation side by being the latest airport to look to the Halifax company for their protection.

This focus on the whole transportation industry shows A-Safe diversifying from the standard warehouse or factory environment.

The specialised Atlas Barrier was developed with, and first installed at Heathrow airport in 2006. It was a move that saw ASafe adapt their existing barriers to meet stringent airport safety standards. They not only achieved what was required to earn BS 6399 standard, but exceeded it.

Gatwick then installed the Atlas barrier in their north and south baggage halls in 2009, and as a result slashed maintenance costs from £100,000 per year to around £3,000 since installation.

Manchester's airfield facilities manager said: "As Manchester is such a busy airport, safety and security remain our top priority especially for staff out on the airfield where there are several vehicle and aircraft movements. Due to this, we require structurally sound and low maintenance barriers in place to protect our passengers and vehicles, which is what A-Safe have supplied. The process from initial contact to installing the barriers has been seamless and we have found the team to be very helpful with our requests." The Atlas barrier can now be found round the world in Charles De Gaulle, Frankfurt and Lanarca airports, to name a small number. Their barriers have also been rolling up at car and automobile warehouses up and down the country, and are installed at Toyota, Daimler, Porsche, Mercedes, Bentley, Vauxhall, Ford and more.

The barrier system has been going in to car manufacturing plants for years now, and the car industry is booming again. With the levels of investment being poured in to it, health and safety in premises is seemingly being reviewed too. Whether it's the production line, pedestrian walkways, pallet areas or dock bays - A-Safe have the answer to the health and safety needs of the automotive industry, and they're fast becoming the barrier of choice with many of the big players.

First Great Western has also become a platform for A-Safe to protect workers and goods in the railway sector. At Laira, Plymouth and Landore, Swansea, First Great Western identified over 30,000 sq ft of maintenance depot that required improved safety barrier systems. Working with A-Safe, pedestrian barriers have been installed throughout the sites to improve pedestrian and vehicle segregation and offer better protection to the workforce.

At the time of the installation, the rail transport industry was identified as one of the worst sectors for fatalities and injuries, and the Laira depot manager said: "With our High Speed Train Fleet we needed to overhaul our maintenance depot to provide segregation barriers between the trains and our workforce. The A-Safe barriers not only protect our workforce by providing first class traffic and pedestrian segregation, but reduce the risk of falling significantly, and meets the new regulations for working at heights." A-Safe's success in the transport industry, first class products and innovation are among the reasons they are leaving competitors behind. Flexibility is their strength, and it seems that there is no application that A-Safe can't fully protect.