Proposal for the Deployment of an Augmented Reality Tool for Construction Safety Inspection

Abstract

The construction site is a hazardous place. The dynamic, complex interaction between workers, machinery, and the environment leads to dangerous risks. In response to such risks, the goal is to fulfill the zero accidents philosophy, which requires the development of safety skills among workers and the provision of tools for risk prevention. In pursuit of that vision, this work studies collective protective equipment (CPE). Traditional methodologies propose visual inspections using checklists, the effectiveness of which depends on the quality of the inspection by the safety advisor (SA). This paper analyses the traditional process of safety inspections in building projects: the traditional methods, main pain points, and bottlenecks are identified, along with the key performance indicators (KPIs) needed to complete these processes correctly. Because of this, a methodology that digitises the CPE inspection process is proposed. Augmented reality (AR) is used as a 3D viewer with an intuitive interface for the SA, and, accordingly, functional requirements are detailed and different information layers and user interfaces for AR applications are proposed. In addition, the workflow and KPIs are shown. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposal, a proof of concept is developed and evaluated. The relevance of this work lies in providing background for the use of AR in safety inspection processes on construction sites and in offering methodological recommendations for the development and evaluation of these applications.

Extended Reality for Smart Building Operation and Maintenance: A Review

“…Hurtado et al [93] proposed a method to support the collective protective equipment inspection process by equipping the safety advisor with an AR-based 3D viewer with an intuitive interface. Authors also provided the background for the use of AR in safety inspection processes on construction sites and in offering methodological recommendations for the development and evaluation of these applications.…”

Visual Relationship-Based Identification of Key Construction Scenes on Highway Bridges

“…Where, 1 -5 denote five key construction scenes on the bridge. 1 denotes construction surveying and proofing, 2 denotes embedding steel casing, 3 denotes erect formwork and stand, 4 denotes steel bar welding and binding, and 5 denotes beam transportation and assembly.…”

“…The authors in [17] proposed a relationship detection model named RelDN, and this study draws on the idea of constructing a CSIN network model with CNN (Convolutional Neural Network) [18] and DCR (Deep Convolutional Relationship) [19] (1) Construction personnel include three underlying features: posture, identity, and location. 1 Posture features include seven kinds: observe, command, stand, etc. ; 2 Identity features include construction stuff (yellow helmet), supervisor (blue helmet), etc.…”

“…(2) Construction equipment includes three underlying characteristics of shape, color, and working principle. 1 Shape characteristics include cylindrical, round, etc. ; 2 Color characteristics include red, yellow, etc.…”

“…Highway bridge construction is an important element of road transport, and plays an increasingly significant role in the development of the transportation sector. In the actual bridge construction process, the complex operating on-site environments, large numbers of construction personnel, and irregular operation of equipment often lead to major safety accidents [1], resulting in significant life and economic losses to societies and families [2]. Therefore, the identification of workers, equipment, and the behavioral relationship between workers and equipment at bridge construction sites, and thus, the inference of the current construction scene, has important application value for construction safety prevention.…”