Scenarios for Integrating IPS–IMU System with BIM Technology in Construction Safety Control

Abstract

Occupational health and safety are the highest priorities in the construction industry. A significant amount of effort has been expended to address and improve site safety. Nevertheless, the rate of injuries and fatalities in construction is high compared to other industries, with falling from heights, falling objects, and tripping hazards the leading causes of fatal and injury accidents in construction. Multiple modern technologies have been implemented on construction sites to monitor worker safety exposures and performance. However, to date, worker locations cannot be accurately identified remotely, especially for those laborers who work on high-rise building projects. Building information modeling (BIM) contains rich building and site information, such as dimensions and elevations, and an indoor positioning system (IPS) inertial measurement unit (IMU) provides a worker’s conditions, including their position, walking speed, and facing direction. Integrating an IPS-IMU system with BIM has great potential for overall construction management and safety control of workers. This paper aims to provide feasible and practical scenarios to use a proposed integrated autowarning system for site safety control. Using data collected from an IPS-IMU and from a three-dimensional site model, the developed system could provide adequate safety notifications and real-time warnings based on safety regulations, guidelines, and policies to prevent site accidents from occurring in an effective and proactive manner. The research also provides an additional approach for further research on innovation and automation development in the construction industry.