Marks, E D and Teizer, J (2013) Method for testing proximity detection and alert technology for safe construction equipment operation. Construction Management and Economics, 31(6), pp. 636-646. ISSN 1466433X
Abstract
The US construction industry continues to be among the leading industries for workplace fatalities after experiencing 818 fatalities in 2009. Approximately 21% of these fatalities resulted from workers being struck by an object or piece of construction equipment. The nature of construction sites often produces hazardous conditions by requiring ground workers and heavy construction equipment to operate in close proximity. The primary objective is to present a method for testing proximity detection and alert systems. Experimental trials were designed to deploy emerging radio frequency (RF) remote sensing technology to demonstrate the ability of the test method to evaluate the capability of proximity detection and alert systems to provide alerts when heavy construction equipment and workers are in too close proximity to each other. Numerous field experiments were designed and conducted to emulate typical interactions between workers on foot and construction equipment. These devices were installed on pieces of construction equipment in an outdoor environment to evaluate the test method for proximity detection and alert systems. Experimental results show that proximity detection and alert technologies can provide alerts to equipment operators at different pre-calibrated proximity alert ranges. The results suggest that the presented testing method adequately evaluated the reliability and effectiveness of the proximity detection and alert technology in the construction environment.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction equipment; risk identification; safety; technological innovation; workforce |
| Index terms: | remote sensing, technological innovation, effectiveness, fatalities, heavy construction, interaction, testing, construction industry, construction equipment, ground worker, radio frequency, construction site, risk identification, experiment |
| Subjects: | financial risk, construction equipment, health risk and incident analysis, performance management, infrastructure and transport systems, industry analysis, behavioral psychology, practitioner, data collection methods, professional practice, innovation and technology management, communication, work location, research products and data |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Cost Management, Health and Safety, Plant and Equipment, Sustainability, Roles and Professions, Quality Management, Site Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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