Construction job sites are full of risks. Slips, trips, falls from heights, and other accidents are always a hazard, making the industry one of the most dangerous in the world.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction accounted for 1,056 occupational fatalities in the US in 2022 alone. That’s 20% of the total deaths tracked by the agency that year, making it the second-most fatal industry overall.
Improving construction safety is a paramount concern — literally a matter of life and death — for general contractors (GCs). It’s also a significant challenge.
An unexpected technology, 3D digital twins, offer a powerful solution. In this article, we’ll talk to Moe Elabdala, Cupix’s VP of customer success and innovation, about four ways that 3D digital twins in construction can improve job site safety, and do it today.
At the end, we’ll explore how machine learning and computer vision are already making digital twins one of the most effective construction safety innovations out there.
Four ways digital twins can improve construction safety
“3D digital twins aren’t just for construction documentation,” Elabdala says.
“To explain what I mean, think about how you create a digital twin with a tool like Cupix,” he says. Someone walks through the site and captures a 360° video. Then, the platform uses this video to generate a detailed, photorealistic capture of the site that can be accessed from any remote location.
“Many GCs will use this process to document the progress of the construction work,” he notes. “But in the process, they’re also documenting the current state of safety measures like scaffolding and railings. And this makes 3D digital twins a very powerful tool for several construction safety applications.”
1. Remote construction site monitoring and construction site inspections
When you use 3D digital twins in construction, you and other stakeholders can inspect safety measures quickly. And you can do this at any time, from any location. As Elabdala explains, that gets “more eyes on the site” to assist your safety crews and perform more thorough construction site inspections. For example, on June 21st, you might need to inspect your job site and verify that it has 150 fire extinguishers, a first-aid board, frame scaffolding, railings, health and safety notice boards, and a water station. This doesn’t have to be the sole responsibility of your safety crew. If you have a 3D digital twin, you and other stakeholders can simply open it from the office and take a virtual tour of the site to ensure that all safety measures are properly installed. This proactive construction safety measure can also help you monitor how your subcontractors and other stakeholders are enforcing construction safety best practices. This goes a long way toward protecting your workers’ lives. “The more eyes you have on the project,” Elabdala notes, “the safer it will be.”
2. Historical documentation for insurance liability
As you use a platform like Cupix to track the project’s progress over time, the platform stores each digital twin and makes it searchable. This creates an archive of 3D digital twins, each of which offers easy documentation of your safety compliance.Imagine there was an accident on January 1st, says Elabdala. “You can go back and do a retroactive remote inspection. You can ask, Were we compliant? Did we have any safety breaches during that time?”Assuming your site was fully compliant, he says, “you can turn around offer that capture as documentation to reduce your liability. You can show that you were doing the right thing for the safety of your workers.”
3. Better safety training
Training is the most important proactive construction safety measure a GC can take. Today, training means each person who goes on site completes a safety induction, where an inspector gives a site overview, explains the site hazards, communication policies, and shares other important health and safety information.3D digital twins in construction can improve this process. Since they provide a photorealistic 3D record of the site that users can explore at eye level and bird’s-eye level, they give trainees a more interactive and intuitive learning experience.“Inspectors can use digital twins to document different kinds of scenarios,” says Elabdala. “Let’s say you capture a job site that does not have the proper railing, or lighting. And you also capture a similar jobsite that does have the proper railing or lighting. They could use the digital twin to walk people through both of these sites at the same time, at an eye-level view.”“That makes it simple to compare and contrast, helping people to better understand and remember construction safety best practices.”
4. AI for tracking safety compliance
Advanced GCs can use AI-powered digital-twin platforms to take their virtual inspections to the next level. With an AI-powered platform like Cupix, this process is straightforward. Use BIM software to model every element in your safety plan, such as notice boards, scaffolding, lighting, fire extinguishers, and so on. Then open this safety model in Cupix SiteInsights. The tool uses AI to compare the safety model against your latest digital twin and verify whether each element is installed. Then, it automatically reports on installation progress with interactive dashboards.When you capture another digital twin in the future, the platform automatically performs another inspection. This adds another set of eyes to enhance construction safety on the job site.It’s important to note: AI is a powerful tool, but it can’t take care of safety inspections for you. Though it will still require oversight, says Elabdala, the benefits are worth the effort.“This process will make you much more efficient with safety compliance,” he says. “It will help you minimize the resources you need for improving construction safety, and even reduce human error to ensure that your safety reporting is accurate.”
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The future of AI digital twins for construction safety
3D digital twins are already powerful tools for construction planning and safety. But rapid advances in AI technology are making them even more powerful.
“We get that maybe 5% of GCs will have the time or resources to build a safety model in their BIM application,” says Elabdala. “And this limits how many projects can use AI for construction site monitoring. But we’re using AI to solve this problem, too.”
The idea, he explains, is that a future version of Cupix “will enable you to open your construction digital twin and select an object like a fire extinguisher. The platform will use machine learning and computer vision to recognize that you’ve selected a fire extinguisher. Then, it will automatically find every extinguisher on site, tell you how many you have, and where they are.”
This AI-assisted inspection would work the same way for other safety elements. Select some scaffolding and it will find all the scaffolding on site. Select a railing and it will do the same.
This will open up the possibility of more automated construction site monitoring and inspection. And do it for every project, even those that can’t dedicate the resources to create a safety model in BIM software.
Conclusion
Safety is one of the most important issues in construction because it’s about more than the bottom line — actual lives are at stake. But reducing risk doesn’t mean you need to use technologies that are expensive and difficult to implement.
To improve job site safety, you can look to the 3D digital twin you use for construction documentation. This digital twin can provide remote construction safety monitoring and inspection, better oversight, improved documentation, and reduced liability.
It can give more stakeholders access to the site, even when they’re in remote locations, so you have more eyes on your site’s safety compliance. Your digital twin can reduce the human error in your safety tracking. It can even bring significant automation using AI, so you can enjoy greater efficiency in safety compliance. And with even fewer resources.
3D digital twins in construction are a powerful tool for documentation, but they also bring a tremendous value-add: improving job site safety.
If you want to learn more about how to implement a 3D digital twin on your own job site, contact one of our experts for a consultation.
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