Making construction sites safer with AI technology
Safety on construction sites is one of India's most critical areas of concern. A recent ILO study has pointed out that the country has the highest number of fatal accidents on construction sites worldwide.
More importantly, traditional safety measures are hardly enough to ensure the safety of workers, especially in today's tech-driven world. Construction safety must evolve to align with current needs by integrating cutting-edge AI technology.
In general, through diverse AI forms, including machine learning and deep learning, construction companies can accurately identify risks faster, monitor real-time progress, detect potential hazards and make informed decisions to address issues in the construction process.
Why construction safety is a challenge
While safety on construction sites is a global issue, it has gained more significance in countries like India due to the increased complexity of projects and lack of resources. Given the inherent risks in the sector, where workers come across daily hazards ranging from working at heights to handling heavy machinery, the potential for accidents looms.
Most construction sites are prone to accidents, with fatalities not uncommon. Leading types of accidents include falls, struck-by and caught-in-between. Unfortunately, traditional safety management practices often involve manual procedures that are prone to errors and are time-consuming. Such delays in addressing safety problems get complicated more, due to the ever changing and dynamic situations in project sites.
Besides, supervisors and safety managers often face the challenge of overseeing a large workforce, making real-time safety tracking a daunting task.
Role of AI to improve construction safety
The transformative potential of AI technology in the construction industry is vast. Using AI for site monitoring enables construction companies to improve safety, cut costs and streamline workflows. AI-powered systems help detect safety hazards and issue real-time alerts to workers while notifying supervisors, engineers and managers of potential problems.
This improves site inspections and saves both time and manual effort. Moreover, AI technology enables employers to provide interactive safety training through virtual reality that guides workers through specific hazard response steps. This proves more effective than traditional methods and has improved the chances of reducing on-site accidents.
Beyond safety hazard detection, AI can also contribute to monitoring the performance of construction workers. By tracking productivity, AI-powered systems can alert supervisors to potential issues before they lead to costly delays or accidents. Monitoring allows proactive identification of underperforming workers, which means supervisors can provide targeted training and resource allocation for greater safety.
Another key role of AI technology in construction safety is enabling improved planning and scheduling. Predictive analytics facilitated by AI help managers identify processes that could be prone to injury or accidents, allowing them to adjust plans accordingly. Current methods of risk assessment use adhoc decisions about the likelihood and hence are very rarely used for day-to-day decision making in risk management. Whereas, predictive analysis guides the employers to accurately predict the residual risk levels of the activities and the likelihood of different types of accidents, considering the massive amount of data that is acquired through existing digital initiatives which most of the companies have embarked on already. AI facilitates and makes it easier to analyze the performance data in the predictive analysis.
Additionally, AI-generated scheduling recommendations empower construction managers to optimize task and project planning to enhance overall efficiency.
Use of AI-driven wearable technology to enhance construction safety
Another stellar use of AI to ensure construction safety is wearable technology. In countries like the US and the UK, AI and wearable technology devices have been changing the approach to health and safety practices. This transformative technology can redefine the way we manage health and safety at workplaces. In fact, wearable technology has been attempted in some of the construction companies in India at variable degree of success rates.
At the heart of this evolution is a wealth of detailed real-time data that wearable devices can acquire and analyze, providing valuable insights into the workplace environment. Wearable technology is a convenient means for employers to gather intricate data, enabling them to monitor workplace activities more comprehensively and gain insights into the overall effectiveness of their health and safety policies.
For instance, consider smart helmets equipped with sensors that actively monitor a worker's body temperature and heart rate and identify signs of heat stress or fatigue. The real-time data proves precious in accident prevention and guarantees quick medical attention when necessary. Wearables, incorporating GPS technology, effectively track workers, ensuring they are in safe areas and stopping unauthorized access to danger zones.
While still in nascent stages in India, in the UK, some game-changing AI solutions like the WearHealth exoskeleton scanning technology and the Modjoul SmartBelt are bringing about disruptive transformations. These AI-driven solutions, rooted in data, enhance the level of protection for workers in high-risk environments, notably in industries such as construction, warehouse operations, and manufacturing.
Another application of wearable technology is to monitor whether workers are hooking the lanyard of their safety harness while working at heights. The technology can detect whether hooking the lanyard is required or not and then sends alert to their supervisors, if one of the lanyards of their safety harness is not hooked to a fixed structure while working in scaffolds and/or precarious locations at construction sites.
Use of AI VR to improve construction safety
Yet another AI-driven technology for revolutionizing worker preparedness for hazards is Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), which play a crucial role in training and simulations. Life-like simulations enable workers to rehearse responses to dangerous situations without getting exposed to the actual risks.
In the construction sector, VR can enable scaffold training within a secure environment, while AR delivers on-site guidance regarding hazards and utilities. These technologies can also be applied for remote maintenance, allowing the experts to guide on-site workers through tasks remotely, ensuring safety and efficiency. This not only reduces accidents but also enhances worker competence.
Harnessing the power of IoT for construction safety
IoT and sensors can also play a key role in making construction sites safer. Machinery, vehicle and workstation sensors consistently transmit data to a central system for real-time analysis. In warehouses, sensors vigilantly oversee load weights and issue alerts if racks are overloaded, averting potential accidents. Vehicle sensors in transportation monitor driver behaviour, promoting safer habits.
Moreover, IoT sensors play a pivotal role in elevating fire safety by identifying temperature changes and flammable gas leaks at the incipient stage of the fire itself. This prompts alerts and controls fire suppression systems, adopting a data-driven strategy that prevents accidents and speeds up emergency responses.
Enhancing the effectiveness of HSE managers
Picturize the following scenario. On any typical day when the HSE manager reaches the workplace, AI sends a status alert informing the total number of places where activities have been taken in the construction project indicating the number of locations where the specified control measures in the HIRA/ method statement are not implemented and the other locations where all the control measures have been implemented and hence the permit for carrying out the activities have been approved. The HSE manager has to look at the visual feed provided by the AI about those locations where control measures have not been implements and decide whether to authorize or reject the permits for those locations.
AI can even analyze the unsafe observations that were found in the locations of various engineers and managers and recommend them for suitable training programs which are scheduled physically or already existing in the learning management system of the company. Considering their sensitivity to recognize or ignore the unsafe practices of employees or the unsafe conditions existing in the workplace during their site rounds, AI can recommend them whether to keep their permit approval status active or to send them for counselling for continuing with their permit approval powers.
To sum it up
In today's fast-paced world, AI-driven technology can go a long way in mitigating safety risks on construction sites. AI-enabled technologies can detect, report and offer real-time responses to safety threats. As construction companies embrace advancements in AI and other technologies, they can pave the way for a safer and more efficient work environment.
Kamarajan M,
