Bachy Soletanche is working with artificial intelligence (AI) company AITIS and its tracking technology partner Iknaia to develop an AI-enabled solution that detects construction site health and safety breaches. The companies have been in collaboration for almost three years to develop and pilot the technology, conducting detailed trials across two of Bachy Soletanche’s major projects.
Using AI video analysis, the solution can alert management teams to site health and safety violations in real time, such as lack of proper safety equipment, employees entering restricted zones and plant/people interface breaches.
Bachy Soletanche has achieved an ongoing reduction in health and safety incidents in recent years; however, the company is eager to take further action to reach its goal of a zero-injury workplace.
The AI identification system means that project managers can be notified of risks before they escalate into real incidents, thus, enabling contractors like Bachy Soletanche to take a more proactive approach to on-site health and safety. Any reported breaches are displayed on an online interactive dashboard, where managers can access evidence of the identified case. If necessary, management can then decide to tailor safety training and procedures accordingly.
Bachy Soletanche’s Head of Technical, Ba Dan Nguyen, noted:
“This is an exciting development for the company as it is the first time we have used AI technology on our sites and the trials have shown huge potential for this to be rolled out on future projects.
“It’s important to note that the purpose of this technology is to monitor ongoing trends, not individuals. It’s not about pointing the finger but rather taking responsibility on a collective level to safeguard our employees and anyone affected by our work.”
By utilising camera footage captured by Iknaia, AITIS and Bachy Soletanche have trained the system to identify specific PPE items, accurately calculate distances between plant and people, and count the number of employees, vehicles and materials on site.
Potential for growth
In addition to this, the AI system can be continually developed over time to identify different hazards, giving it the potential to become a long-term feature of construction site safety protocol. For Bachy Soletanche, this innovation could form part of a comprehensive safety management toolkit to help manage day-to-day risks on site.
The system can also assimilate data from many sources, not just video analysis – further expanding its potential in the industry. For instance, AITIS is already working on solutions for monitoring and predicting dust and noise levels, as well as safe working at height. By being able to apply AI analysis to the data, the tool can also offer productivity reporting (progress, asset and material tracking) and automated remote site surveillance.
Next steps
With the initial trials now complete, Bachy Soletanche is continuing to work with AITIS and Iknaia to identify where the solution can be used and further enhanced to improve safety and productivity on site.
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