Model for Automated Monitoring of Fall Hazards in Building Construction

Abstract

Construction professionals do not attribute to accident prevention the same importance as they do to the main (“value adding”) activities. As a result, not enough time and effort are invested in safety issues. Fall from heights (“fall”) is the main cause for fatalities and injuries in construction projects. The objective of the present research is to automate fall prevention procedures. An automated model that identifies the dangerous activities in the project’s schedule was developed. It also defines the areas in the building where these hazards appear, proposes protective activities (guardrails erection), and integrates them into the schedule. Additionally, it constantly compares the planned guardrails (location and time) and the ones actually used on site. The model provides textual and graphical reports and warns when guardrails are missing, are incomplete, or have been partially removed. The model was implemented, tested in an ongoing project, and presented to 14 experts who were asked to evaluate it. The experts’ main conclusions were (1) the model is accurate; (2) the model is a very useful managerial tool in that it identifies all fall hazards, including ones in less visible areas; (3) it enables early detection of fall hazards before and during construction, even during the design stage; and (4) the model is an important managerial, monitoring, and control tool keeping track of all fall hazards and protective measures, and warns when a safety problem occurs.