Wearables: A Potential Coronavirus Solution for Construction Sites
05.01.2020
By: Landis Barber & Tim Hiltbrunner/Advanced Construction Concepts. Inc
SMART TECH HELPS BRING SAFETY
With millions of jobs still considered to be essential, COVID-19 places a risk of exposure in going to work for many employees. How can companies track and reduce exposure to the disease? While many industries may rely on data collected from an individual’s cell phone, the construction industry is better suited for monitoring individuals while at work.
As the idea of wearable technology used to monitor individuals has been around for several years, COVID-19 will likely push companies to adapt to how they use these devices. At many construction sites, these devices are already being put to use. For example, smart safety helmets, hard hats, and safety vests are all designed to identify and track the activity of the wearer. Plus, devices like these can monitor the air quality, bio metrics, and more data from the individual.
WEARABLE TECH CURRENTLY IN THE MARKET
Spot-R Clips by Triax Technologies are a construction wearable with multiple functions and features The Spot-R clips can identify the number and location of workers on a site at any time. With a built-in gyroscope, the device sends alerts to supervisors to the location of someone that has tripped, slipped, or fallen.
The Scan-Link System is an RFID based personal detection system that detects people—rather than objects—behind mobile equipment. The ground workers are tagged with passive RFID tags in their vests and hard hats, and the mobile equipment is outfitted with an antenna/reader. Read more about Scan-Link.
Utilizing low power sensors in work boots, Sole Power’s products include GPS, RFID and IMUs are embedded in OSHA approved pieces. Sole Power claims their concept improves situational awareness by monitoring real-time location, status and environmental factors. Read more about Sole Power.
NEW REASONS TO IMPLEMENT
The information collected from devices like these can even be used to trace symptoms of a virus like COVID-19. If an individual tests positive for the virus, they can also be used to track where they have been and who may have come into contact with that person. Other available technology to help mitigate viral risk include smart glasses, bionic suits, and simple badges. Each of these devices can collect data to monitor employees and help the construction industry avoid a shutdown due to COVID-19.
A prime example would be Redpoint Technologies, a Boston-based tech company, which began adapting their current devices to help enforce social distancing on the job site. Their website describes what they started in February this year:
Redpoint's technology uses tags and Ultra-wideband (UWB) signal to track the location of people and equipment with extremely high accuracy, even in complex industrial environments. If social distancing parameters, such as a 1- or 2-meter radius, are violated between workers, the tag alarm will alert them to the hazard.
FOR THE FUTURE AND SAFETY
For current job sites and construction projects to continue on, it’s critical that supervisors continue to implement continual screening protocols that utilize proven technologies, such as wearables. For projects that have yet to begin, plans need to be made now to provide extra proper safety equipment for staff, such as wearables. In such a volatile market, awareness and prevention can make the difference in a complete or stalled project.
It has become integral for the construction industry to closely monitor individuals through the data being collected on the job site. Yet this crisis has propelled worker safety into a new era; greater technology than thermometers or masks are available to keep staff on the job site. By utilizing the vast potential of wearable technology, the construction industry can continue to avoid major delays and shutdowns.
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