The statistics can be scary. 4,764 workers died on the job in 2020. Employees in construction and extraction occupations accounted for 20% of those deaths. While technology has continued to advance to address this very issue, many fatalities and injuries are still occurring.
University of Houston computer scientists have set out to find a solution by developing ViPER+, which accurately tracks workers’ location using ultra-wideband technology. The ViPER+ system surmounts challenges of other ultra-wideband based realtime safety monitoring systems primarily because it overcomes non-line of sight situations. These are instances in which trucks, construction loaders, and other equipment block the signal between the transmitter and receiver in ultra-wideband radio transmissions.
Here is how this can help in construction:
- Monitor location-based policies related to the safety of workers and equipment on sites.
- Policies define safe areas for workers and equipment or define a safe distance between them when equipment is operating in the construction site.
- The system automates the monitoring of these policies and detects any violations of the policies.
The team tested their system twice in actual construction zones in Houston that were cordoned off for their experiment. Future changes to the system include ironing out user design issues such as alerting construction workers when they are too close to moving machinery.