Construction safety device creator faces red tape with NS government – Halifax | Globalnews.ca

A Nova Scotia businessman says he is facing red tape in his home province to get his road safety device approved in Nova Scotia, even though it has been approved elsewhere.

City wants to hear from residents impacted by large outdoor events in Calgary – Calgary | Canadian

Mitchell Hollohan is the creator of the Guardian SmartFlagger, an automated traffic flagging device that makes construction sites safer. It is essentially a portable traffic light operated by a person with a tablet.

He says it has the potential to save lives.

“They are still on the job, managing the job, but from a safe location and not directly in front of traffic where they could get hit by a vehicle,” Hollohan said.


Click to Play Video: '2020 Site Receives $500,000 in Funding'







Site 2020 receives $500,000 in funding


Site 2020 receives $500,000 in funding – August 30, 2021

The 26-year-old started the project six years ago while at Dalhousie University. Since then, it has been approved in 38 US states and eight Canadian provinces, but not in Nova Scotia. Hollohan says he has been working with the Nova Scotia government for five years to get SmartFlagger approved in the province, but has run into red tape.

Story continues below ad

“The only province that has continued to push us is Nova Scotia, our hometown,” Hollohan said.

Year-to-date sites where the Guardian SmartFlagger is up and running.

Year-to-date sites where the Guardian SmartFlagger is up and running.

Mitch Hollohan

“I have a board of directors and investors who want to see this company grow, but they keep asking me, why am I here? Why am I in a province that does not support our mission, our goals?

The Public Works Department declined an on-camera interview but said in an email that it plans to have rules for automated signaling devices in an updated traffic control manual in the spring of 2023.

“We plan to have rules for automated signaling devices in the updated manual,” said Deborah Bayer, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Works. “We want to make sure our work zones are safe for workers and motorists.”

Read more:

Nova Scotia sends team to collect buyer data for promised buy-local program

Story continues below ad

Construction Safety Nova Scotia says that reducing risk on job sites is paramount, as the opportunity for error and accidents is always present.

“There are almost limitless opportunities to apply technology to the construction industry,” said Perry Sankarsingh, director of quality and innovation at Construction Safety Nova Scotia, “so to the extent that we can use technology to help improve communication between the workers themselves and the traffic, the people they are trying to manage is always a step in the right direction.”

It’s a step Nova Scotia has been slow to take, as other provinces passed the Smart Flagger in less than a year, according to Hollohan.

The Guardian SmartFlagger in use on a construction site.

YouTube/Site 20/20 Inc.

“Nova Scotia is not a huge revenue opportunity, but at the end of the day, this product was created to improve the safety of traffic control people and flaggers, and not doing that in my home province is painful,” said. .

Story continues below ad

Hollohan said he would love to keep his company in Nova Scotia, but without government support, he says he and his technology could be kicked out of the province.

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.


Leave a Comment