Innovative tunnel safety portfolio

As a specialist in 'wayfinding' products, among other things, OFN saw opportunities to put traditional designs back on the drawing board. Together with its partner Westend Lighting, a completely new and sustainable tunnel safety portfolio was developed that better meets the requirements of today and tomorrow. 

OFN is committed to making infrastructure more sustainable. "We have expressed our ambition to do developments related to making infrastructure more sustainable," begins Mark Hofman, Manager of Business Development at OFN. "One of these and immediately a very important one is the development of a completely new tunnel safety portfolio. Since innovating always means investing, it was of course wonderful that our client BAAK wanted to share that ambition with us."

Sustainable aspects

A tunnel safety portfolio includes pictograms, beam lighting, contour lighting, auxiliary post luminaires and dynamic escape door indication. "In short, a package of product components that ensures that in the event of an emergency, people can escape safely," Hofman explains. "The existing generation of this portfolio actually no longer fits these times. In terms of material applications, assembly methodology, service accessibility and system operation, it is good but dated technology. Aspects such as sustainable use of materials, modular construction, quickly interchangeable components, limited energy consumption are very topical, however, none of this can be found as a starting point in the current tunnel safety portfolio. Reason for us to develop a new product based on these ambitions, but with the same functional requirements."

DC technology

OFN's new tunnel safety portfolio basically consists of just five aluminum profiles with which the entire portfolio can be built. Hofman: "We use a polycarbonate cover and have greatly simplified the assembly method. For the latter, we used the practical experience of specialists who work in tunnels almost every day. In contrast to the hitherto usual portfolio, the new concept is based on smart direct current (DC) that not only feeds but also controls. Smart luminaires that monitor their own status and report on the DC-Grid. Developed by our partner Westend Lighting, this smart DC technology is safer, uses less energy and allows assembly and installation to be done by a Sufficiently Educated Person (VOP), i.e. an employee who does not have prior electrical training. In times of shortage of qualified personnel also a significant advantage."

The National Tunnel Standard in the Netherlands is cast in concrete, Hofman knows. "Fortunately, there is room within which innovation can be applied in a structured and tested manner. We have since walked this path and performed the FAT with BAAK at the end of September this year. Our tunnel safety portfolio passed this FAT with flying colors and the iFat with Rijkswaterstaat is now scheduled. From the FAT our solution has now been accepted for application in both tunnels of the Blankenburg connection. With that, the technology is now of course also applicable in other traffic tunnels." So OFN is officially a system supplier for road tunnels. A fine example of decisive innovation by two SMEs.