Construction safety is one of the issues that most concerns construction companies. The regulations in this regard have been changing often in recent years and it is expected to continue doing so, incorporating new technologies and habits such as robotics or artificial intelligence. But until then, the most effective security system in the daily performance of construction work continues to be the prevention systems and the meticulous control of loads and slabs.
How to avoid landslides in construction
Several of the accidents occurred in the construction are due to total or partial collapses of the structures. These events are caused mostly by overloading the floors, causing them to rush down, destroying the lower floors in the case of large buildings in height. These failures can be due to diverse causes, from a bad execution of the slabs according to the project, to an erroneous calculation of the slabs for the obligatory loads or what is usually more habitual, a negligence on the part of those responsible for the organization of the work, excessively overloading slabs that were not sized for the loads to which those slabs have been requested during execution. The reason for these overloads is mainly due to a poor calculation of the total weight that the slab can hold, taking into account the possible circumstances that may arise depending on the location of the work, the characteristics of the structure and its reinforcements.
Another common cause of accidents of this type, is usually the elimination of vertical elements, such as pillars or more usually walls of loads, which were thought, by a bad analysis of the existing structure, that they were simple elements of enclosure or interior distribution. In these cases, they are usually old buildings, of which structure plans are not usually available.
Pushes on basement or containment walls, undervalued, on walls built on one side or mismatches on foundation, are usually the other main source of partial or total landslides in structures under construction.
On the other hand, a poor design of the retaining wall can cause cavities in the vicinity, affecting other buildings or surrounding roads.
Guarantees and prevention in construction
The construction company is obliged to guarantee safety at all times in the work environment, whatever its characteristics. For this there are several guidelines and indispensable obligations that every company must follow:
Carry out actions and training actions as established in law 31/1995 with the prevention service.
Design and follow the Prevention Plan identified by the company at work. Comply with all the steps established in the organization of prevention and internal communication to all personnel working in the work on the procedures to be followed and risk factors.
Perform the relevant medical examinations and assessment of skills for workers, at least once a year, mainly when starting a new job. This requirement is made even more exhaustive in the construction sector due to the high rate of temporary employment. All this is included in the health surveillance report that should be
Detect the risk factors in each work, inform the workers of them and take the necessary measures to warn them and avoid them.
Conduct emergency drills establishing and ensuring that everyone knows the procedure of action and evacuation.
Prepare a report in order to raise awareness among workers regarding safety and health. Said document will be delivered by hand to the workers and will be explained by periodic meetings to be carried out in the reference work. This document provides information on the use and installation of collective and individual protection equipment, general measures of prevention and order and cleaning.
To have the advice of a company specialized in Worksite Prevention.
The future of prevention: Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is already being applied in certain companies with the aim of avoiding risks to its workers in the execution of their work. In some companies, analytical prediction is being used to safely plan labor actions. With this, they anticipate the circumstances and situations of these work actions, thus avoiding accidents and situations of risk to their employees, at the same time as increasing the efficiency in operations.
On the other hand, there are intelligent video surveillance systems that warn of unhealthy behaviors in jobs, such as the absence of helmets or protective elements. An example is the VINNIE application that establishes an automated field monitoring to help security professionals identify the elements of risk from the data obtained.
Along the same lines is the SmartConstruction initiative of the Japanese company Komatsu with the aim of creating connected and intelligent work sites. For this purpose, NVIDIA technology has been used to create 3D visualizations of construction sites, including the real-time interaction of people, machinery and objects. The SMARTCONSTRUCTION project also involves the collection of data through the use of smart cameras and drones.
Something similar is Doxel, a Silicon Valley company that has created software enhanced by artificial intelligence focused on optimizing the productivity of construction. It uses robots and drones equipped with LiDAR cameras and sensors to monitor and scan work sites.
In short, it seems that in the near future the AI will allow construction companies to make more efficient decisions based on more precise levels of information about their real environment, through the recognition of patterns and images.
At Secin Group, security has always been a maxim for our work environments. We do not carry out any activity until we are totally sure that we have all the technical capabilities and the necessary active resources. The experience and know-how have endorsed us in all these years. In addition, we have professionals specialized in prevention and on-site protection techniques, who take care to detail compliance with standards, even beyond those strictly established, to ensure maximum security in all aspects that affect any of our services. of construction and structural engineering.
