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Safety first
As the first full day of racing kicks off, one of the top priorities both on and off track is safety. The on-site Safety team tracks and prevents safety issues during the event, using tools like the ‘Safety Pyramid’, a model used for keeping track of and analysing any issues. They record any major incidents as a top priority, as well as minor incidents, near misses and, last but certainly not least, both opportunities for improvement and potential incidents.
The theory is that, by keeping a close eye on the opportunities for improvement and the potential incidents, you are better able to control and prevent major or minor incidents. The team actively roams around the event, keeping a close eye on what’s going on. “We are not just observers. We proactively intervene and educate people who are not complying with safety rules and regulations,” says Zulkarnain Mohd-Said, the Shell Eco-marathon Safety & Medical Ambassador. “It’s not just talking and writing reports: if I see something amiss, I act!”
Team Solomon (602) from China must be top of the Shell Eco-marathon Safety team’s merit list, as they have focused heavily on safety - not just in the making of their car, but also in how they organize their workspace in the pit as well. “We brought our own shelves so that we could keep our spare tyres and equipment neat and tidy,” said team manager Lim Pei Yong.
“Our car itself also has many safety features – for example the seat, which we designed ourselves using ergonomics simulation technology, is the right weight and in the right position to minimize any impact to the diver in case of an accident.”
Team Solomon with their UrbanConcept model
“Also, the driver compartment and the engine are carefully separated to minimize risk.”
Not only neat and tidy, this team’s safety efforts extent to keeping everyone healthy too - they even have someone responsible for re-filling the water bottles and reminding team mates to stay hydrated!
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