TECHNOLOGY MATTERS |
JESSICA LOMBARDO, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Object Detection Software Improves Jobsite Safety Enhanced visibility allows equipment operators to feel more in control of keeping themselves, and workers around them, safe
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onstruction jobsites are notoriously busy and dangerous areas. According to the Federal Highway Administration, each year over 20,000 workers are injured in road construction work zones. Over 35% of those injuries are due to contact with objects or equipment. These massive machines move around in close proximity to vulnerable workers on the ground and it takes communication and concentration from both driver and workers to keep everyone safe. Luckily, technology is also available to help. "If you take a drive by any jobsite, you're going to see that harmony between machine and people out on the jobsite. So what we really pay attention to is how does that interaction work," Nate Jensen, senior sales manager for aftermarket at Sensata says. "The legacy we think of is being out there and hearing an alarm, the backup alarm. That's where we started in the market was creating backup alarms which is the first line of defense to alert the people that are around the machine so they can make a change to their behavior." In loud environments however, like construction sites, backup alarms become less effective and so accidents unfortunately still happen. "Why is that? It's because we're not really putting control where control
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On construction sites, massive machines move around in close proximity to vulnerable workers on the ground. It takes communication and concentration from drivers and workers to keep everyone safe. Luckily, technology is also available to help. Jason Harris/Facebook
www.ForConstructionPros.com/Asphalt
1/25/22 9:05 AM
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