Many things have contributed to the recent decline in the amount of US Labor reported employer-reported workplace injuries and illnesses, including better equipment, training, and safer cultures. A big factor to all of those is the vast amount of technological innovations available to us in recent years and even just months! Here’s some of the innovations that have been helping you make work safer for your craftsmen:
Online Training
Any safety training that can be done will reduce risk. The US Bureau of Labor reports that 200 minutes of new hire safety orientation will reduce incident rates by 94%! Creating online modules can help your training be even more accessible and efficient.
Cloud Based File Access – BIM
It’s shown that consistent job site updates and orientations will reduce your incident rates. That’s why BIM can help, because when the files for a project are easily accessible through the cloud, then everyone will have instant updates at any given time. it also makes it easier to detect mistakes and overall safety and building quality improves.
Drones
Drones are primarily used in construction for site surveying, which is logical because they can explore areas that are potentially dangerous – or get into tight spaces or other areas that are more difficult to access. And they can do it much quicker than humans too, with automatic measuring and map-making abilities. This means that you can more accurately evaluate sites to see if they’re safe in the first place before you even take a step onto the site.
Self-Driving Vehicles
When craftsmen get bored doing monotonous work, it puts them in a possibly dangerous zone where they’re not paying close attention,- which becomes a safety hazard. Self-driving vehicles or other automatic operating machinery takes the boring repetitive work from craftsmen, allowing craftsmen to supervise or utilize other specialized skills that are potentially less risky.
Robotics
Robotics can help for the same reason – as they are best used for monotonous work. One example is the bricklaying robot called SAM, which stands for Semi-Automated Mason. SAM can lay about 3000 bricks per hour, which is many times faster than the average mason working by hand!
Messaging & Mobile Technology
Communication is key on any job site, and keeping the team up to speed with instant messages in realtime can drastically improve the safety. There are new app innovations that can allow for group interaction, including WhatsApp, HipChat, and Flock.
Wearables
Wi-fi, GPS trackers, and other sensors can be embedded into clothing. This allows workers to access information easily while they’re out working on site. And these sensors can help supervisors to monitor their movement or even their body response – such as heart rate and skin temperature – which could prevent your craftsmen from getting into dangerous situations.
3D Printing/OffsiteConstruction
3D Printing is helping modular and prefabricated construction to be more efficient, both of which allow for more of the construction to be offsite in a warehouse. This means that a large part of the work is being done in a controlled environment, increasing levels of safety.
Madden has safety training resources too, so give us a call if you need help and guidance. And if you’re looking to hire more craftsmen for a safe project, give us a call! Madden will match workers that have the experience and training you need for the job.
