Contractors turn to wearable devices to monitor safety at worksites
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Among the various technologies used by the construction industry to help improve worker safety, so-called wearables have attracted significant interest.
“We’ve got a lot of clients and prospects who are trying to experiment with some of these things,” said Boston-based Tom Grandmaison, executive vice president and manager of construction at Willis Towers Watson PLC.
Examples of wearables include cameras mounted to uniforms and hardhats that are designed to warn workers about job site dangers and to help keep track of employee movement.
Another example are devices called “exoskeletons,” which are used by workers to aid physical strength and support.
Some of the newer products in the wearables sphere include safety devices sewn directly into reflective vests and hardhats to warn of different job site dangers such as heavy equipment moving around the workplace.
“They’re getting pretty sophisticated,” said Dwayne Hartman, construction loss control lead for Kansas City, Missouri-based brokerage Lockton Cos. LLC.
The construction industry has seen an increase in the use of wearables in the past few years, Mr. Grandmaison said, as more insurers and contractors look to the devices to “give them a leg up on monitoring what’s going on in their projects.”
