PUBLISHED BY 7X24 EXCHANGE INTERNATIONAL
TM
THE END-TO-END RELIABILITY FORUM
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B L O C K C H A I N 2.0 READY FO R BU SIN ESS
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Conference Keynote
RICH KARLGAARD
Forbes Publisher and Global Futurist
FALL 2018 • www.7x24exchange.org
DRIVEN BY TECHNOLOGY
Le ve ragi ng Metric s for a S afer Jobsite BY DOUG O’NEIL L
See. Mitigate. Manage. Three simple words that — paired with the right technology — keep your workforce safer. With more information than ever available at our fingertips, companies are finding ways to leverage metrics to work safer and smarter, resulting in more successful projects for clients, partners, and contractors. By identifying risks at early stages, taking preemptive steps to mitigate them, and managing processes to avoid them in the future, technology is shaping the future of jobsite safety. It is giving teams the knowledge to adjust behaviors and influence leading indicators, helping companies get ahead of potential incidents or trends before they occur, all while benefitting employees and their loved ones in the process. JE Dunn, along with Google, ISG, and Whiting Turner, are employing some of these methods on jobsites around the world to test the effectiveness of technology in safety. “We’re looking to turn ideas into innovation— ways to solve a problem whether this would be incremental or immediate”, says JE Dunn’s Vice President of Safety Eric Zuhlke. “We’ve been focused on solutions related to managing fatigue, eliminating strains and sprains, and protecting workers against general construction risks.” Many people track their health right on their wrists, but the one thing activity trackers do not monitor—that can often be the most
dangerous on the jobsite—is fatigue. Using the Cat® Smartband, workers can now capture and evaluate an array of sleep factors, including quantity of sleep, consistency of sleep, cumulative sleep debt, wake time, and circadian rhythm. These insights help predict a worker’s level of alertness. Using the power of this technology, the wearer learns about personal sleep and how inadequate sleep computes to fatigue. Meanwhile, supervisors have visibility to make informed decisions, all based on an alertness scores and real-time data. “Our workers are now wearing a fatigue wristband to monitor activity and sleep both on and off shift,” said Anita Tarab, global director of sustainability, environment, health and safety for Google Data Centers. “We hope to see improved decision-making and response times as well as a reduction in accidents that result in losttime injuries.” While fatigue is a silent threat for every person on a jobsite, there are many role-specific factors that contribute to safety at work. ViSafe by dorsaVi is a product that provides real-time data to assist with ergonomic assessments. Using detailed assessments and data collected through observations and video, it is easier to associate certain actions and stressors that invariably lead to risks associated with strains and sprains and are attributable to a higher likelihood
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of injury with specific tasks. Using the data, teams can adjust construction means and methods, create behavioral modification, and mitigate unwanted risks. In addition to identifying physical and job-specific risks, the team is testing Trimble CrewSight, a safety wearable on hardhats to monitor and record activity and motion data. The hardhat beacon provides an effective means for lone worker safety, the ability to manage people more effectively, and increases response time in cases of emergencies. With an array of Radio Frequency Identification technology applications available, supervisors select a means to identify and track behaviors and risks using a modular turnstile, mobile RFID scanner, BYOD (QR code), and solar zone scanners. Working on loud, busy sites—while many times alone—brings another set of safety hazards. Spot-r by Triax is a safety wearable technology that provides a solution for fall monitoring, injury reporting, site accountability, and evacuation. Workers wear a
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personal monitor on their hips, and it detects automatic fall alerts, including worker location. Worn to gain valuable insights as well as protect employees, Google is embracing the technology at its jobsites. “We employed several types of wearable technology, each addressing a unique issue,” said Tarab. “Our ‘lone worker’ wristband alarms a security call center if a wearer falls, faints, or in any way loses consciousness. This is a possibly life-saving device that protects our workers who work remotely.” While these are great for remote work, active sites with constant commotion require something different. Monitoring real-time activity is key to understanding not only physical risks, but also other factors such as equipment location and motion. “We’ve started using a personal proximity sensor. On a busy site, collisions between people and equipment are a constant danger, as back-up alarms become background noise. The personal alarm warns both the equipment operator and the wearer,” said Tarab. The device provides for a manual two-way alert to communicate site hazards and injuries
“ We’re exploring
some exciting initiatives to determine how virtual reality can improve every aspect of our jobs, from site orientation to hazard recognition. It could change jobsite safety as we know it ”
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“ Spot-r by Triax is
a safety wearable technology that provides a solution for fall monitoring, injury reporting, site accountability, and evacuation. ”
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without having to leave the work area and allows the site to alert workers to real-time evacuation alerts. Spot-r operates through a sensor technology and services data along a network. The information gained allows workers to connect into a network, which enhances worker safety at the highest level. Additionally, this safety technology assists project teams using people management with builtin efficiencies. Using metrics in the decision-making process to increase safety on the jobsite is an invaluable tool, but imagine spotting hazards before ever stepping foot on site. That’s where we believe virtual reality can raise the bar when it comes to jobsite safety. Where 3-D modeling changed building design, virtual reality has the potential to transform safety. From risk recognition to signage and how to properly mark hazards, 360-degree camera technology would give users a virtual view of current conditions, allowing workers to mitigate risks before they physically face them.
“We’re exploring some exciting initiatives to determine how virtual reality can improve every aspect of our jobs, from site orientation to hazard recognition. It could change jobsite safety as we know it,” said Zulkhe. Whether monitoring to gather process-changing data or alerting workers to unsafe conditions or behaviors, technology is changing the safety game. Equipped with powerful insights and the ability to identify hazards early on empowers supervisors to make necessary changes to begin moving the needle when it comes to safety. “These initiatives, in conjunction with dedicated distracted worker campaigns, have begun to show a steady drop in our fleetwide construction lagging indicators—our Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR),” said Tarab. See. Mitigate. Manage. Three simple words that are now possible thanks to technology, metrics, and the ability to make proactive, real-time adjustments, keeping workers safer on jobsites from coast to coast.
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