Electronic Safety Device for Construction Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Coonly EJ ; Kulkarni RV
• Description:
  This research included the development of two electronic safety devices: (i) Moving Hazards Warning (MHW) device for eliminating 'struck-against' accidents, and (ii) Edge Detector (ED) device for eliminating 'fall' accidents. Ultrasonic sensors powered by small rechargeable batteries, and controlled by microchips were packaged into two prototype safety devices: (i) A moving Hazard Warning (MHW) Device, and (ii) An Edge Detector (ED) Device. Each of the safety devices can be built into the rear side of the tool-belt or waist-belt. The devices will warn the worker via sound and vibration alarm whenever he/she is closer than a safe distance from the approaching equipment or the edge of the roof/open-sided floors, respectively. A device using radio frequency (RF) sensor was also tested. In all U.S. private industry, 119,250 (4.2% of the total) injuries occurred due to the workers 'caught-in / between-equipment', in 1996. In the same year, 6,112 work-related fatalities occurred. Of these 6112 fatalities, 236 fatalities occurred due to falls, and 429 were caused due to workers caught-in / between equipment. This research developed electronic device prototypes to eliminate these two accident types. In a preliminary survey of workers, 93% of them said that they find the devices useful and will use them. Assuming a 50% utilization of the developed products, the anticipated savings are estimated to be $500 million per year in construction industry alone. The utilization of these products by all private industry, which will happen with time, will save a total of $2.0 billion annually. During field tests in high winds the prototype devices did not give expected and reliable results. A similar but lesser effect was seen while equipment noise was present. More research is required to overcome these environmental problems. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Personal Protective Equipment Safety
• Keywords:
  Construction Construction-equipment Construction-workers Control-technology Equipment-design Floors Occupational-accidents Personal-protective-equipment Roofers Safety-equipment Ultrasonics Warning-devices

  More +
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20025223
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2014-106372
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, R44-OH-003497, 2004 Apr; :1-12
• Contact Point Address:
  ViTech Systems Inc., 126 Viscount Drive, Williamsville, NY 14221
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• Performing Organization:
  ViTech Systems Inc., Williamsville, NY 14221
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19990930
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20020929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:957e41af77ba46ccd49a447232020d7d0a081e96874c5f78fc6b7b9cc53c7da159ec201d4b2188f015c12e1c6b87c134429d78e1658ba1b421e6d08f1fbaba5c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/218246/cdc_218246_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 909.99 KB ]