J. Murphy & Sons Limited, the leading specialist engineering and construction company, announces that it is trialling new artificial intelligence site cameras designed to increase worker safety.
The camera system, known as the AiMac and developed in partnership between Murphy Technical Services and IMAC Ltd. It has been designed and tested specifically for the construction industry and will help to monitor key exclusion zones and restricted, plant and people interface points on sites to increase workforce safety.
Exclusion zones and restricted zones are commonly used in the construction industry to keep people away from high-risk activities including falling objects or moving plant and machinery. Typically, these zones are denoted by pedestrian barriers with signage fixed on the barriers.
The AiMac system is able to detect movement and activity in key exclusion and restricted zones before determining in real time whether or not site staff are in potential danger based on agreed safety protocols. The system can then provide an alarm activation to warn of the potential risk.
The technology also has the potential to be used to monitor for other potential issues and health and safety areas in relation to pre agreed site safety protocols such as incorrect PPE usage and trip hazards. The sensors have analytical and machine learning capabilities that can send valuable metadata, which can be analysed alongside data from a range of sources, including traditional accident, incident and reporting tools, weather data and observations from trained health and safety professionals, to anticipate incidents and manage health and safety across multiple construction sites. This will enable us to get the most form our data, giving us the upper hand when it comes to identifying risks and trends.
Commenting on the trial, Matthew Barney, Senior Procurement Manager at Murphy said: “This technology has the potential to play a really critical role in helping us to reduce site safety incidents and protect our colleagues. The ability to identify risks on site and move quickly in real time to warn of the danger is vital to helping deliver a safe environment for all our employees. I hope that, by combining traditional health and safety methods and best practice with new technologies such as this, we will continue to deliver on our commitment to place health and safety and the very heart of our wider business.”
