Importance of Safety Measures in Construction

Historically, construction workers have suffered more fatal and nonfatal injuries as compared to other industries. Most on-site accidents are caused by negligence & ignorance on the part of either the worker or the management or both.

Now, how do we prevent such mishaps from ever occurring on Construction sites??

The simple answer is by leveraging the power of?Artificial Intelligence?followed by?Computer Vision.

Using AI and Computer Vision, we can assess and track the movements and interactions of workers, machinery, and objects on a construction site in real-time, and even get instant notifications on the dashboard. It helps safety managers to monitor better and get profound visibility of the worksite to ensure the health and safety of the workers.

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Types of Construction Accidents

Accidents at?construction sites?could take place due to various factors such as equipment or machinery failure, working carelessness, natural disasters, and many more.

Let’s see the most common types of construction accidents:

• Falling from Height
• Forklift or Crane Accidents
• Falling objects or Debris
• Fire or Explosion
• Unnoticed Gas leaks
• Electrocuted?
• Chemical spills
• Machinery failure

Importance of PPE in Construction

Personal Protective Equipment, often called PPE helps protect the user against?health & safety?risks at the Construction sites. It aims to prevent workers from any potential threat that directly or indirectly causes physical damage to the workers.

Here are some of the most common PPE used in construction:

• Safety Helmet
• Safety Boots
• Safety Goggles
• Ear Muffs
• Gloves
• Dust Mask
• Vest

Although PPE helps protect workers from any physical damage, construction workers are sometimes negligent and often violate safety rules by not wearing proper PPE kits. This could ultimately lead to various safety-related accidents at the worksite.

So, the most effective way to keep workers from harm’s bay could be by manually or digitally monitoring the PPE of workers.

Video Analytics for Construction Safety

Video Analytics?is an AI-based monitoring system that makes use of existing CCTV cameras on-premises to detect multiple activities and generate real-time alerts. It primarily uses Computer Vision to perform advanced functions such as object tracking, line detection, area detection, and many more.?

Using the data collected from the?CCTV?cameras, Video Analytics can help identify machinery failures, PPE detection, personnel proximity to hazards, intrusion detection, vehicle speed detection, Automated Number Plate Recognition, etc. and trigger an alert before any incidents occur, as well as after they have occurred if they could not be prevented.

Using Intelligent Video Surveillance technology, real-time data can be obtained on:

1. Accident-prone areas:?Workplace safety?can be affected by exposure to various hazards such as working from heights, exposed to electrical wires, chemicals, toxins, heat, machinery, etc. Video Analytics solutions can detect if the construction workers are properly wearing the required PPE and send an alert on various devices to the authorities if anyone is found violating the safety norms.
2. Intrusion risks and threats: Unwanted Trespassing could lead to potential safety & security issues for the trespasser as well as the workers on-site. Perimeter detection of the construction site is a necessity as it efficiently monitors vehicles or personnel, allowing only authorized parties to enter the restricted areas, which in turn prevents on-site intrusions.

How is Video Analytics being used in Construction?

Video Analytics is basically Video Surveillance with Analytics features added to improve workplace safety & efficiency. This Computer Vision-based monitoring software has many features that include PPE detection modules, Intruder detection modules, Face recognition modules, ANPR modules, Vehicle speed estimation modules, etc.

You just need to simply connect your existing CCTV cameras to the?AI-based?monitoring system which helps contractors and safety managers for better planning and progress. The system will automatically track the on-site workers for PPE detection, machinery failures or danger zone detection. An integrated dashboard records the visual footage of all the non-compliances. The events section on the dashboard consists of all the generated alerts organized in a specific date range.

Here’s how video analytics is being used in the construction industry

1. PPE Detection

Video Analytics reduces the number of workplace injuries and deaths caused by employees breaking safety rules & regulations. When the PPE Detection module is enabled, the system recognizes a person in the frame and detects whether the person is wearing safety gear or not.

Furthermore, you receive a real-time notification on the provided dashboard, text message, or e-mail if a safety violation is detected. You can alternatively search the archives for a video clip containing the safety violation performed by the worker.

2. Failover for Constructing

All the video recordings are saved in the system archives and produce only stable video streams. If the server on which the module is running fails, the?RTSP?coming from the cameras is immediately transferred to the backup server. This ensures that video is transmitted consistently and the archive isn’t lost even when the server is down.

Despite the issues with the server, you will still continue to get all the notifications on your phone or through email. As a result, you will be able to monitor the safety of your employees while avoiding damage to the construction site’s property.

3. Face Detection

Utilizing the Face Detection module, a person can be identified based on their facial appearance, who entered the field of vision of a camera located in the restricted zone and/or at a time when being in that zone is banned. You can receive automatic notifications to the monitor, phone, or e-mail when faces are identified. The authorized manager can make reports about the people who were recognized, including the detection time and crowd count, and also store identified faces in image format in their database.

As a result, mishaps can be avoided that endanger the safety of workers and property on construction sites. Furthermore, the images of faces kept in the database, along with information on the time and location of their discovery, may become useful in investigating accidents and other similar events.

4. Surveillance and Monitoring

An AI-based surveillance system is being used at construction sites to automatically check security footages for any suspicious behaviour or possible intrusions. This technology can be used to monitor specific activities or images that enter the monitoring region of the CCTV camera. It can be helpful to keep an eye on the site’s equipment, tools, and supplies and generate alerts if someone tries to steal any equipment.

Benefits of AI in Construction

AI and Video Analytics help improve efficiency and reduce unwanted expenses:

• Video Analytics can increase the visibility of worksite activities for safety managers to avoid accidents, thus reducing setbacks and costs.
• It will also reduce compensation costs associated with workers by better tracking workplace activities & incidents.
• AI can enhance construction sites by optimising the number of workers and activities performed by workers.

Let’s Wrap it Up

Safety is of utmost importance in any industry, but in the construction industry, ensuring workers’ safety is not an easy task. Construction sites are very large and have many workers handling dangerous machines. Video Analytics could become a very useful tool for construction managers.

You seem to be in need of professionals who would deploy modern solutions into your existing system. At Daten & Wissen, we have a team of experts in creating sophisticated AI solutions. Over the years we have helped transform many industries with the help of AI & Machine Learning solutions.

Read Also:

https://datenwissen.com/blog/ehs-risk-management-using-ai/

https://datenwissen.com/blog/ai-in-fmcg-industry