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In Focus: Safety First-The Benefits of Construction Robotics

The use of construction robots can transform site safety for human workers, while monitoring processes that impact project timelines and budgets.

Q2 2022
A construction site can be a hazardous place; from slips and falls to material exposure, human workers undertake a certain amount of risk. It is the responsibility of construction site managers to take every precaution available to protect their workers. With the advent of new technologies such as robots, drones, and increasingly sophisticated data management platforms, ensuring the safety of human construction workers has never been more achievable. Construction robots can improve accessibility and visibility tremendously across construction sites by capturing standardized data even in dangerous conditions, enabling teams to use that data to inform safety monitoring processes.

Accessing Challenging Sites
Mobile construction robots such as Boston Dynamics’ Spot enable project teams to access challenging job sites with ease. Autonomous and terrain-agnostic, these robots can tackle the dynamic nature of a construction site to efficiently and repeatedly capture unbiased data. Their capacity to traverse rough terrain and adapt to changing weather conditions allows them to safely capture as-built conditions on the site, even in hazardous and hard-to-reach areas.

Robots such as Spot can be operated by a remote team, keeping humans safely out of harm’s way.

Integration with Construction Management Platforms
The cutting-edge project management platforms available in the market today offer seamless integration with mobile robots. Through these systems, remote project teams can map a defined route for the robot to regularly and repeatedly capture consistent data, which will then be uploaded and saved into a common data environment for all project stakeholders to access. By providing rich, high-quality visual data through intelligent mapping cameras, construction robots greatly improve visibility throughout a project lifecycle. Integrated software solutions offer high-tech data interpretation tools to help teams quickly interpret the content generated.

Construction robots can improve accessibility and visibility by capturing standardized data even in dangerous conditions. Site Monitoring and Safety Management
By generating comprehensive real-time site data, robots and connected project management platforms enable better decision-making across construction teams. Data record-handling and storage management provide managers with dedicated databases for visual insights, securely storing information for safety assessments, compliance testing, and auditing. With access to these comprehensive data records, teams can identify issues and collaborate on solutions much quicker.

Data-driven models can also help to prioritize worker safety. Site robots can identify issues and hazards with electrical and HVAC systems, foundation faults, or equipment mishandling, which ultimately prevents accidents for human workers. These comprehensive records ensure that such issues do not go unnoticed and that teams comply with safety protocols throughout all project stages.

A Win-Win: Prioritizing Safety while Improving Workflow
Construction robots and integrated project management technology have the potential to transform safety conditions for human construction workers. At the same time, increasing site safety and monitoring processes will dramatically impact project timelines and budgets. Disorganized safety inspections and monitoring processes can drastically delay a project. Robots enable assessments to be performed quickly and efficiently, leading to a faster resolution of problem areas. Knowing their safety is prioritized, workers will be more productive, and workflows will be optimized. For construction managers, the choice to adopt technologies such as robotics and integrated management systems is a win all around.

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