Five companies are bringing together technologies and risk knowledge to provide managers with a 360-degree view of construction sites and real-time alerts regarding workers’ adherence to safety regulations.

Zyter, a Maryland-based digital health and IoT-enablement platform, is collaborating with Zurich North America, Qualcomm Technologies, Everguard.ai and Rudolph Libbe Group (RLG) to advance the use of AI-based IoT technologies to enhance construction safety. The goal is to help prevent jobsite incidents and accidents that can result in serious injuries and costly property damage.

The collaboration represents the next step forward in propelling construction safety from a reactive to a proactive approach.

Zyter’s SmartSpaces platform, analytics and front-end dashboard is being integrated with Everguard’s Sentri360 AI platform, made possible through the Qualcomm Smart Cities accelerator programme and Qualcomm’s IoT services suite. RLG, a provider of construction and facility services, will beta test the collaboration at one of its job sites. RLG’s insurance provider Zurich will monitor the impact and evaluate the system for use with other construction customers.

“This collaboration takes best practices for construction site management and worker safety to a new level,” said Sanjay Govil, CEO of Zyter. “Together we are making worker safety more manageable for the construction industry by delivering improved visibility across an entire work site.”

Jon Tate, vice president of construction risk engineering for Zurich North America, added: “Zurich connects our customers with innovative technology that puts their workers’ health and safety first, which is key to delivering quality work both on time and on budget. Through this collaboration, we are exploring how to enhance construction site managers’ ability to see and stop at-risk behaviour and to identify any needs for supplemental training and other resources to support safety going forward. We want to help clients like RLG prevent accidents and injuries, and potentially save lives.”

Qualcomm’s IoT services suite delivers end-to-end, IoT-as-a-service, enabling the digital transformation of smart cities, connected spaces and experiences globally. Smart technologies are at the forefront of driving smart spaces and construction sites, enriching lives through the accelerated transformation of infrastructure and services.

The Zyter SmartSpaces platform is used to break down silos of information by integrating and consolidating data from IoT devices and applications in a seamless interface. Zyter is also providing analytics.

Everguard’s Sentri360 platform ties together industrial sensor technologies using sensor fusion, edge compute and AI algorithms, enabling them to learn dynamically on the job. This has the potential to lower incidents, injuries and corresponding costs. Everguard has been recognised for prioritising construction safety and the digital management of construction sites, enabling a proactive approach to both safety and productivity powered by AI and sensor fusion.

Using a continuous stream of real-time data from IoT devices on workers and building materials, this collaboration aims to deliver a seamless, up-to-the second view of what is happening across the entire construction site to the Zyter dashboard. Additionally, through data visualisation, analytics and intelligent insights, construction companies will be able to monitor and address events, operational issues and incidents.

Analytics will help construction companies determine worker productivity and safety scores, as well as gain insight into other metrics related to construction site management.

Initial efforts will focus on using AI and computer vision to enhance safety protocols already in place on construction jobsites for initiatives such as personal protective equipment (PPE) compliance and geofencing of restricted areas.

“We are excited to collaborate with Everguard and Zyter to deliver smart solutions via construction-management-as-a-service,” said Sanjeet Pandit, senior director at Qualcomm. “Prioritising construction safety and digital management of construction sites allows construction companies and their commercial insurance providers the ability to focus on worker safety. Construction-management-as-a-service will continue to accelerate the transformation of city infrastructure and services to help enrich communities’ lives.”

Sanjay Pandya, vice president at Everguard, added: “These five companies share a dedication to being technology and safety leaders in our respective fields. The dedication to safety this group of innovators embraces is unmatched. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Sentri360 at the heart of this collaboration.”

RLG, a single source provider of construction and facility services that range from site selection and construction to energy and ongoing facility management, will beta test the collaborative construction safety offering.

“Our expertise goes well beyond that of a typical construction company,” said Brad Deal, senior vice president at Rudolph Libbe. “We bring our safety-first culture to every project and service we deliver. Collaborating with this group of innovators allows us to expand our tools and technology. For us, it all comes down to delivering a better, safer work site for our customers.”