SonaSafe was created to reduce the risk of serious incidents where people and moving equipment share space. Our technology is built around real-world reliability, practical deployment and measurable safety improvement – not technology for technology’s sake.
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Forklift and mobile plant incidents are often preventable, but the highest-risk moments are not always visible. Workers can be hidden by racking, pallets, containers, plant, noise, dust, glare, low light or site complexity. SonaSafe was built to help close this gap with accurate proximity detection, real-time alerts and configured safety controls that support safer work environments.
SonaSafe leads with sonar because accuracy and reliability matter most where visibility is limited. The platform combines sonar-led detection, UWB, tagged, tagless and hybrid deployment options, configurable exclusion zones and cloud-based safety data to deliver a solution that can be shaped to the site, not forced onto it.
SonaSafe’s product capability has evolved through engineering, field experience and customer feedback. Its system design brings together sonar-led proximity detection, UWB radio, configurable rules, alerting, monitoring and reporting to support safer operating behaviours across complex environments.
SonaSafe supports engineered controls, behaviour change and pilot-led validation. We do not present technology as a substitute for traffic management, training, supervision or safe systems of work. Instead, we help customers add a practical layer of real-time detection, alerting, intervention and data to strengthen the systems they already rely on.
Every site is different. That is why SonaSafe uses a consultative, pilot-led approach: assess the risk, configure the solution, validate performance and scale only when the site has evidence. SonaSafe provides all local delivery, installation and ongoing service.
SonaSafe was founded in 2012 with a focus on keeping people safe around heavy machinery by using sonar-based proximity detection. Since then, the product has evolved into an enterprise-grade forklift and mobile plant safety system incorporating multiple detection technologies, configurable rules, analytics and site-specific deployment methodology. SonaSafe’s own dedicated New Zealand PhD-led R&D team with ex-military background design all the products from the ground up, from the electronic board design, firmware, algorithms and cloud analytics and invest continuously in innovation informed by our customers operating in real complex environments.
To make configurable mobile plant safety a recognized engineered safety standard across Australian and New Zealand worksites – helping organisations reduce preventable interaction risk before incidents occur.
Safety is our foundation, not a feature. Every decision is measured by its impact on the people we are here to protect.
Trust is earned decision by decision. We operate with integrity, transparency and accountability, so customers and partners know how our solutions work and what to expect.
We exist to solve workplace safety challenges that cost lives. Our success is measured by incidents that never happened.
The best solutions are built with people, not just for people. We listen first, understand the environment, and always value and support our customers & partners.
We combine rigorous engineering with continuous innovation because the people we protect deserve solutions that keep getting better.
Meet the people leading SonaSafe’s Australian growth, product development and customer delivery.
Managing Director & CEO
Paul leads SonaSafe as Managing Director and CEO, with responsibility for strategy, governance and commercial growth. A barrister, international arbitrator and experienced company director, Paul brings more than two decades of experience across construction, energy, transport and logistics, including deep involvement with the Mainstream Group. He understands the contractual, regulatory and operational pressures customers face when deploying safety-critical technology on live sites. At SonaSafe, Paul focuses on strategic direction, key partnerships and disciplined delivery, helping customers and partners adopt reliable, site-configured safety systems that support safer outcomes around forklifts and mobile plant.
Chief Operating Officer
Conal leads SonaSafe’s operations across Australia and New Zealand, with responsibility for operational performance, strategic execution and growth. He brings international leadership experience across New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, with a focus on building scalable, high-performing businesses. MBA-qualified and commercially focused, Conal works across strategy, investment, delivery and customer outcomes. At SonaSafe, he is focused on building the systems, teams and partner relationships needed to support quality-led growth and help customers deploy practical safety solutions with confidence.
Technical Director
James leads SonaSafe’s R&D and production from the Tauranga facility. With a background in electronic engineering, computer science and military communications R&D, he brings deep technical experience across product design, firmware, algorithms and applied communications technology. James founded SonaSafe as a product in 2012 after many years developing specialist technology solutions across international markets. Today, he remains focused on the engineering discipline behind SonaSafe – building practical, reliable systems that perform in real operating environments. Outside work, James is a fixed-wing gliding instructor, amateur radio operator and avid reader.
SonaSafe has been developed through years of proximity awareness R&D, real customer deployments and continuous product improvement. The system is backed by documented outcomes, engineering capability and ongoing investment in future-ready safety technology.
Talk to our team about your site, fleet, workforce and forklift / mobile plant interaction risks.
Since implementing the SonaSafe solution we've been able to engage our staff in Health & Safety conversations supported their real-world data. Working alongside our internal team and those at SonaSafe we've seen an 80% reduction in near misses as well as a 65% reduction in exclusion zone breaches. Ultimately we're driving behavioural change through a more engaged workforce and creating a safer work environment.
Grant Lemin
Mainstream Chief Operations Officer, Mainstream
We established a temporary site without activating SonaSafe. Remarkably, the team—comprising staff previously accustomed to SonaSafe enabled environments continued to observe exclusion zones diligently. This experience underscores the enduring influence of SonaSafe on our workforce's safety practices, highlighting that safety consciousness has become an ingrained aspect of our daily operations.
Rob McMillan
Manager of Container Terminals for the North Island, Kiwi Rail
Working around these machines, visibility and timing are everything. With SonaSafe’s role-based PDUs, I have confidence that the system is working around me, not against me. The alerts are set to match the real risks of our team, so I know immediately when someone enters a potentially harmful zone beneath or around the crane. It gives me the flexibility to operate efficiently while knowing that the people on the ground are protected. Over time, that awareness becomes part of our daily operation and how we work.
NorthPort
Crane Operator
SonaSafe helps reduce forklift and mobile plant interaction risk with sonar-led proximity detection, tagged, tagless and hybrid deployment models, real-time alerts and pilot-led validation before rollout.
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