Enhancing Safety on Construction Sites: A UWB-Based Proximity Warning System Ensuring GDPR Compliance to Prevent Collision Hazards

Construction is known as one of the most dangerous industries in terms of worker safety. Collisions due the excessive proximity of workers to moving construction vehicles are one of the leading causes of fatal and non-fatal accidents on construction sites internationally. Proximity warning systems (PWS) have been proposed in the literature as a solution to detect the risk for collision and to alert workers and equipment operators in time to prevent collisions. Although the role of sensing technologies for situational awareness has been recognised in previous studies, several factors still need to be considered. This paper describes the design of a prototype sensor-based PWS, aimed mainly at small and medium-sized construction companies, to collect real-time data directly from construction sites and to warn workers of a potential risk of collision accidents. It considers, in an integrated manner, factors such as cost of deployment, the actual nature of a construction site as an operating environment and data protection. A low-cost, ultra-wideband (UWB)-based proximity detection system has been developed that can operate with or without fixed anchors. In addition, the PWS is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union. A privacy-by-design approach has been adopted and privacy mechanisms have been used for data protection. Future work could evaluate the PWS in real operational conditions and incorporate additional factors for its further development, such as studies on the timely interpretation of data

Evaluation of the Use of Class B LoRaWAN for the Coordination of Distributed Interface Protection Systems in Smart Grids

The adoption of the distributed generation paradigm is introducing several changes in the design and operation of modern distribution networks. Modern grid codes are becoming more and more complex, and the adoption of smart protection systems is becoming mandatory. However, the adoption of newer and smarter units is only half of the story. Proper communication networks must be provided as well, and the overall costs may become critical. In this work, the adoption of the Long-Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) technology is suggested as a viable approach to implement the coordination of Interface Protection Systems. A proper communication architecture based on the LoRaWAN Class B technology was proposed and evaluated in order to assess its feasibility for the considered application. A scalability analysis was carried out, by computing the number of devices that can be handled by a single LoRaWAN Gateway (GW) and the maximum expected time of response between a triggering event and the arrival of the related coordination command. The results of the study showed that up to 312 devices can be managed by a single GW, by assuring a maximum response time of 22.95 s. A faster maximum response time of 6.2 s is also possible by reducing the number of managed devices to 12

Exploiting Internet of Things and Building Information Modeling Framework for Management of Cognitive Buildings

Technologies for the acquisition, storage and mining of big data are increasingly affecting the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, modifying the way buildings are conceived and developed. Indeed, they will be no longer designed and managed only as financial products, but also as service providers to support the needs of the occupants. This is a great challenge in the building sector, that is experiencing a period of various (r)evolution concerning products, technologies and processes. This research defines a digitally enabled framework for operating cognitive buildings, presenting a case study by which it has been possible to analyze how information collected during operations could inform end-users (i.e. administrators, owners, facility managers and occupants) about the behavior of both buildings and occupants. Focusing on building in-use stages, advantages in tracking the behavior of occupants and in satisfying the needs of users should be derived through the availability of real-time information, i.e. collected by sensors. In this way, not only the behavior of users could be taken into account, but also predicted performance could be correlated with real measurement and, consequently, the building performance gap should be estimated and filled. A connection between as-designed virtual models (resulted from a BIM – Building Information Modeling – process) and as-delivered physical assets (monitored in real-time, i.e. through BMS – Building Management Systems) could be established to explore how BIM practices and technologies could improve a data-driven asset management, by enriching building information in operation. The results should allow pointing out how data and information gathered along building life cycle could provide services to users

A proof of concept application of sensing technologies for managing proximity hazards on construction sites

Construction is among the most dangerous industries for the safety of workers. Due to the dynamism typical of construction sites, where labor, materials and equipment resources are often in motion, collisions and contact with moving construction machineries and heavy equipment represents one of the main safety problems. The study described in this paper concerns with the preliminary development of a proximity warning system (PWS) for construction activities, which is based on the implementation of sensing technologies for situation awareness. Preliminary results, the feasibility of the PWS and its practical potential are described, highlighting the needs of a continuous monitoring process and the expectations about the system configuration. The adoption of the Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology is within the scope of the paper. A front-end loader and an excavator are the construction machineries taken into account for the analysis of the use case, which considers the differences between equipment with fixed and variable geometries in terms of sensorisation. The possibilities for real-time position tracking of labor and equipment in both outdoor and indoor conditions based on the system architecture settings are discussed. Moreover, the compliance of the system architecture with the requirements imposed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is described. Future works will validate the system in the context of actual construction sites. Furthermore, factors to be considered when sensing technologies for tracking the position of resources on construction sites are implemented will be evaluated as far as planning and scheduling activities are concerned