May 6, 2024

Meet the new members of your jobsite safety team – robots

Germain

Metz

When we think about jobsite safety, we think personal protective equipment (PPE), proper signage, clear instructions, fire extinguishers, barriers, proper lighting, using the right equipment for each task, and regular inspections, among other things. But robots are probably not on anyone's checklist.

At Kaye, the residential tower Skanska is both developing and building in Belltown, we have two robots that are integral members of our jobsite safety team. We call them our Didge Field Safety Technicians.

Didge is the name Boston-based Nextera Robotics gave to the AI and autonomous robots that we are piloting at Kaye, and in the first few weeks they've been a game-changer in several ways.

WHAT CAN THE ROBOTS DO?

The short version is they collect and analyze large quantities of data. At Kaye, they're precision photographers for unparalleled image capture. The robots roam the jobsite capturing images of work in progress – inside, outside, every floor, every room…they even climb stairs. They take pictures from the same locations week after week, even in low light and outside of typical jobsite hours. These are not hand-held phone images that need to be stitched together or grainy low-res videos, but rather full, high-def, 360-degree images that give our project executives a clear look at exactly what's happening on the jobsite.

This level of photographic detail, when connected to the project's BIM model and Nextera's construction project management and safety monitoring platform, allows for AI progress tracking, accurate percentage-in-place reporting and helps the project stay on schedule.

What does that have to do with safety? Everything.

WEEKLY AUTOMATED JOBSITE SAFETY REPORTS

Photos courtesy of Skanska USA [enlarge]

Skanska is using two Nextera Didge robots at its Kaye jobsite in Belltown.

Each week the Didge takes photos throughout the site – every room, every floor, every angle – to analyze safety issues. After the robots have captured thousands of images, the AI and safety monitoring platform generates a weekly automated safety report that gives us an unbiased assessment of overall safety on the jobsite. It provides detailed monitoring and scoring of everything from lighting conditions and fall hazards to PPE and fire safety, giving instant feedback to both management and crew. It is an invaluable source of shared ground truth for project executives, project managers, the Safety Team, and insurance company.

The reports provide easy to read quick-scan highlights that are color coded green, yellow, orange and red to indicate risk factors from positive findings and observations to high-risk activities requiring immediate attention.

We're able to drill down floor by floor and see heat maps showing precisely where issues like clutter or improper lighting need to be addressed. We can then schedule teams to go deal with the issues and even give them a map and a picture showing exactly what to look for.

COACHING PROPER PPE USE WHILE PROTECTING PRIVACY

Because the AI is trained to recognize safety equipment like helmets, vests, glasses and gloves, it can analyze photos taken throughout the daily scan to detect scenarios like, “100% of workers on floors 4, 5 and 6 were wearing all PPE.”

Likewise, the AI-powered robots can identify images where a team member is not wearing proper PPE and flag those images – notably blurring all team member faces for privacy except when sharing with the environmental health and safety (EHS) leader – so that direct one-on-one coaching conversations can occur. This may help prevent future incidents.

DRIVING SAFETY STANDARDS TO A NEW LEVEL

Over time, the constant feedback loop from the robots to the EHS leader and the crew can significantly enhance the safety culture on site.

Spotting safe behaviors and conditions is equally crucial as identifying unsafe ones. Maintaining a comprehensive safety record can facilitate smoother, fact-based discussions between insurers and builders regarding claims or future construction project insurance.

REDUCING WORKER BACK AND KNEE STRAIN

[enlarge]

The Didge Safety Field Technician climbs the stairs at Kaye on its way to photographing another floor.

Much like how drones helped remove the element of risk of human workers needing to climb exceptionally high on ladders to get top view photos, these robots are helping reduce physical strain on workers.

To capture their images, the Didge robots are often maneuvering themselves into stances that can be uncomfortable for humans to get into. While easy for the size and shape of the robots, these positions (think constant crouching or odd angles for humans) would be harder on our backs and knees, especially having to repeat them room after room, floor after floor, week after week, walking the entirety of a soon-to-be 31-story building like Kaye each week.

Kaye is not the first project where Skanska has utilized robots. We've piloted different types of robotics with varying capabilities and in each instance, we've found our work to be more efficient and safer. We see notable lost time incidents saved, along with significant schedule compression and less rework.

What better way to celebrate Skanska's core value of Care for Life than by utilizing new technologies that put their health, safety and wellbeing first?

Every project manager has a long list of things to do. Throw in meetings, getting pulled aside by coworkers to tackle other topics, and myriad other To Dos that our people contend with, and the value of having a dedicated AI-powered Didge Field Safety Technician on site becomes easy to see.

While the Didge robots have only been on site a few weeks, as we continue to progress towards our expected topping out at Kaye this summer, all of us at Skanska look forward to the added data and combined project management and safety benefits the robots will continue to provide.

Stewart Germain is director of innovation, and Garrett Metz is senior project engineer at Skanska USA.

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