Hitachi develops system to increase productivity, safety at construction sites

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Hitachi Ltd has developed a system to increase productivity and safety on the front lines of construction using IoT (Internet of Things) technologies. Specifically, the company said it will increase productivity at construction sites by using dedicated devices to monitor, in real time, information on the position and movement of workers and construction machinery, and the status of operations.

The system will also increase safety by using triaxial acceleration sensors and air pressure sensors in the devices to quickly determine when workers have fallen down or entered dangerous environments. In preparation for the future commercialization of this system, Hitachi is planning to conduct on-site tests at construction sites.

In recent years, with the continuing trend toward digitalization, IoT and digital technologies have come to be used in a variety of fields. Meanwhile, as Japan faces a decrease in its working population, the movements to increase productivity and realize work style reform including the reduction of work hours and the introduction of a five-day workweek at construction sites have become more active in construction industry. Hitachi group has developed and provided services and solutions which contribute to increasing safety and productivity by visualizing the status of workers and equipment at a construction site.

Now, Hitachi has developed a system that uses dedicated devices to monitor the status of workers and construction machinery to increase productivity and safety at construction sites. This system uses dedicated devices and “clean beacons” developed by Hitachi along with GPS to seamlessly monitor, in real time, positional information on workers and construction machinery both indoors and outdoors. In this way, it is able to detect worker excesses and shortfalls and ensure optimum worker allocation, thereby contributing to increasing productivity. The system also increases safety by using triaxial acceleration sensors and air pressure sensors built into the devices to quickly detect when workers are in danger; for example, if they have fallen down, or if they have entered a restricted area or an environment with a high risk of heatstroke.

Hitachi is planning to conduct on-site verification tests of this system at construction sites and is aiming to begin commercial applications during the first half of FY2018.