Four Tech Developments Keeping Construction Workers Safe
Date Posted: July 25, 2019
Posted In: Discussion, Workforce,
From Construction Digest: It’s well-known that construction is one of the world’s most dangerous industries, but recent developments in technology could potentially help drastically reduce the rates of worker injury and death. These technologies have gradually been introduced at construction sites, but the progress has been slow. But as the people working in the industry learn to better understand these developments and how to use them, we expect that technology will help drastically improve construction worker safety in the coming years.
Here are four safety technologies that are currently being used at construction sites in the United States:
Safety Software and Apps for Mobile Devices
Keeping construction sites safe is hard work. It involves making sure the site is in compliance with all safety regulations, tracking accidents, and developing new ways to reduce the rates of accidents and injuries. This can be especially difficult for large projects involving multiple teams of employees spread out over multiple work locations. Fortunately, modern software makes it much easier to handle all safety aspects of project management.
At the end of 2017, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) instituted new electronic reporting requirements for all covered establishments with at least 250 employees. These establishments will be required to electronically submit OSHA 300 and 301 forms each year. Meeting these requirements will be much easier for builders who have already converted to an electronic system for their operations.
Some ways apps and software can be used to improve construction site safety include:
- Allowing workers to quickly report accidents and near misses
- Easily perform hazard IDs
- Schedule corrective actions right from the work site
- Document conditions with mobile device cameras and voice-to-text features
Building Information Modeling (BIM)
BIM is a process that allows architects and engineers to use 3-D models to plan and manage their building and infrastructure projects. This can help protect construction workers by making sure there are no unnecessary hazards before and during the actual construction of the project.