A NEW devise invented near Tenbury is helping to keep construction workers safe.

Plinx, developed by Wearable-Link, is a proximity sensor which alerts workers when they are too close to each other, allowing essential construction work to continue safely across the UK.

The inventor Tommy Williams was inspired by his love of surfing. He initially created a location tracker to prevent surfers from getting lost at sea.

With the help of BetaDen, Worcestershire’s business accelerator located at Malvern Hills Science Park, Mr Williams was able to adapt this concept. He came up with proximity sensor which prevents the spread of Covid-19 whilst enabling construction work to continue.

Councillor Ken Pollock, who represents Tenbury on Worcestershire County Council and is Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Economy and Infrastructure said that it is an important invention in enabling people to work safe.

“It is wonderful to see a device which has been invented here in Worcestershire being used to enable construction work to continue safely," said Mr Pollock.

It is a valuable piece of technology.”

The device is placed on construction workers’ helmets and uses Bluetooth, GPS and Wireless technology. Data from the wearable device is sent to a local hub and is then displayed on a map, which shows the construction site layout and what requires improvement.