Marks, E D; Cheng, T and Teizer, J (2013) Laser scanning for safe equipment design that increases operator visibility by measuring blind spots. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 139(8), pp. 1006-1014. ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
One-fourth of construction industry fatalities are caused by worker collisions with construction equipment. Nonvisible areas (blind spots) for equipment operators are contributing factors to many of these fatalities because equipment operators are unable to see ground personnel at certain locations around their equipment. Presented are the design and validation of a unique technique for measuring blind spots by using laser scanning data. The work demonstrates how the design of construction equipment impacts the visibility of its operator. The contribution of the developed technique to the body of knowledge is that it can precisely evaluate and compare different equipment models and design characteristics. The blind spot measurement data for several similar pieces of equipment provides design suggestions that increase operator visibility. By increasing operator visibility through advanced equipment design, safety can be promoted on construction sites and in any other work environment, particularly with nearby ground workforce equipment.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | blind spots; construction equipment and machines; equipment operators; laser scanning; proximity detection and alert; safety; skid steer loader; worker |
| Index terms: | construction equipment, work environment, construction industry, fatalities, personnel, construction site, validation, laser scanning, body of knowledge |
| Subjects: | work location, knowledge management, analytical methods, industry analysis, management, health risk and incident analysis, professional development, construction equipment |
| Topics: | Engineering Principles, Information Management, Research Practice, Health and Safety, Plant and Equipment, Human Resources, Site Management, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here