Sensor tracks environmental health risks to construction workers

SmartSite’s connected health monitoring tool logs worker exposure to hazards and provides immediate alerts when safe levels are exceeded.

A lot of recent developments in health and safety have focused on wearables, like these injury-preventing sports collars and inflatable water-safety shirts. For construction workers, however, who wear bulky safety equipment, wearables are tricky to use. On-site health and safety monitoring is easier, although generally expensive. Startup SmartSite has developed a health-tracking tool that is portable, easy to set-up and use and that provides real-time updates.

Connected to the cloud, the SmartSite safety monitoring tool checks environmental hazards such as noise, pollutants and UV levels. On-site and remote alerts are issued if safe levels of any hazard are exceeded. SmartSite’s also gives the opportunity to log data automatically in the cloud. Ongoing tracking of workers’ exposure to hazards enables continuous improvement of processes and compliance to occupational health regulations. The SmartSite cloud-based software also includes a report-generating functionality and predictive analytics. Launched in early 2017, SmartSite is developing additional accessories to make the tool usable in a wide variety of conditions.

As wearables get tougher, could smart safety equipment be a key development in more efficient construction?