Construction Boom: Supporting Worksite Safety

Written by Warren Di Marco, CEO at Brigade Electronics Canada.

As Canada emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction industry is expected to form an important part of the country’s economic recovery, with house building playing a key role.  According to the Royal Bank of Canada, the country is in the midst of a record housing construction boom.

However, statistics show that construction is still one of the most hazardous occupations with 20.2 fatalities per 10,000 workers occurring on Canadian construction sites per year.  Non-fatal injuries are also a real risk.  Accidents often involve heavy machinery and vehicles, which have numerous blind spots that limit operators’ visibility, and greatly increase the danger of collision with those working on the ground.

With the number of construction sites increasing, more people than ever will be working with, and around, construction vehicles and mobile machinery.  It is vital that every precaution is taken to prioritize the safety of all those on site.

The introduction of commercial vehicle safety systems, such as cameras, alarms, sensors and vehicle CCTV, have revolutionized the driver and operator experience. These include Brigade’s best-selling Backeye®360, which provides a real-time 360 degree surround view of a vehicle in a single image.  This system provides the driver with instant visibility of the numerous blind spots found on large vehicles, allowing operators to quickly see and react to hazards on the ground.  This is especially useful on construction sites where drivers are regularly required to perform low-speed manoeuvres in challenging situations.

Vehicles present a significant risk to construction workers and back over incidents are a real concern.  While “beep beep” style reversing alarms are currently still being used widely around the world, white sound reversing alarms provide a much safer alternative.  These alarms emit a multi frequency “shh-shh” sound, which is more easily detectable by pedestrians and ground workers and allows them to easily locate where, and in what direction, a vehicle is reversing – even while wearing hearing protection or working in noisy conditions.

As the country prepares for a building boom, construction companies should ensure that worksite safety remains the top priority for everyone concerned.  While technology alone will not solve this issue, it will certainly go a long way towards mitigating hazards and preventing deaths and injuries.