The Experts below are selected from a list of 23343 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Jochen Teizer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
dynamic blindspots measurement for construction Equipment Operators
Safety Science, 2016Co-Authors: Soumitry J Ray, Jochen TeizerAbstract:Limited visibility due to blindspots of construction Equipment is responsible for more than half of the visibility-related fatalities in the construction industry. Knowledge of blindspots aids in improving safety on construction sites and the design of the Equipment cabin itself. We present a novel technique that allows measuring blindspots dynamically using the head posture of the Equipment operator. To achieve this, we perform the head posture estimation with a range camera using Random Forests algorithm. Utilizing the head posture information and the point cloud data of the construction Equipment, we generate dynamic blindspots or visibility maps from the Operators perspective in real-time. Research findings suggest this approach can potentially be used as an intelligent alert system. Language: en
-
Safety 360: Surround-View Sensing to Comply with Changesto the ISO 5006 Earth-Moving Machinery - Operator's Fieldof View - Test Method and Performance Criteria
Proceedings of the 32nd International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction and Mining (ISARC 2015), 2015Co-Authors: Jochen TeizerAbstract:Despite recent efforts towards protecting construction personnel from Equipment which operates in too close proximity, most of the existing and more advanced accident prevention techniques focus on approaches using sensing technologies. These can alert workers-on-foot or personnel operating the Equipment in real-time. The drawbacks that some of these technologies have, however, limits their use in practice as the applications in construction are diverse and the environment is harsh. This article first presents significant safety statistics related to visibilityrelated construction Equipment accidents. It introduces a brief but critical review of the existing ISO 5006:2006 standard for earth-moving machinery – operator’s field of view – test method and performance criteria. Further, this article comments on a significant change that will soon be implemented in the standard and how Equipment manufacturers expect to comply with the modification. Novel Equipment design and sensing to provide Equipment Operators with a surround-view, called here “Safety 360”, is introduced and tested to verify that solutions for responding to the expected change in the International Standard – although they are technically challenging – exist. An outlook presents matters that need to be addressed in the future should Equipment operation ever become safe.
-
method for testing proximity detection and alert technology for safe construction Equipment operation
Construction Management and Economics, 2013Co-Authors: Eric Marks, Jochen TeizerAbstract:The US construction industry continues to be among the leading industries for workplace fatalities after experiencing 818 fatalities in 2009. Approximately 21% of these fatalities resulted from workers being struck by an object or piece of construction Equipment. The nature of construction sites often produces hazardous conditions by requiring ground workers and heavy construction Equipment to operate in close proximity. The primary objective is to present a method for testing proximity detection and alert systems. Experimental trials were designed to deploy emerging radio frequency (RF) remote sensing technology to demonstrate the ability of the test method to evaluate the capability of proximity detection and alert systems to provide alerts when heavy construction Equipment and workers are in too close proximity to each other. Numerous field experiments were designed and conducted to emulate typical interactions between workers on foot and construction Equipment. These devices were installed on pieces of construction Equipment in an outdoor environment to evaluate the test method for proximity detection and alert systems. Experimental results show that proximity detection and alert technologies can provide alerts to Equipment Operators at different pre-calibrated proximity alert ranges. The results suggest that the presented testing method adequately evaluated the reliability and effectiveness of the proximity detection and alert technology in the construction environment.
-
real time resource location data collection and visualization technology for construction safety and activity monitoring applications
Automation in Construction, 2013Co-Authors: Tao Cheng, Jochen TeizerAbstract:Abstract Data to field operations of construction resources (personnel, Equipment, materials) is vast, but the effort of collecting, analyzing, and visualizing is hardly ever taken. One main reason that limits higher quality in project site management decision making especially in resource intensive and complex operations is access to real-time information and subsequent technology that enables effortless data collection, processing, and visualization. Although recent developments in remote data sensing and intelligent data processing supplement manual data recording and analyze practices, few data on visualization tools in construction exist that gather data from dynamic resources and stream it to a field-realistic virtual reality environment in real-time. State-of-the-art technology in the field of real-time data collection and visualization is reviewed. A novel framework is presented that explains the method of streaming data from real-time positioning sensors to a real-time data visualization platform. Three case studies are presented which highlight its methods for recording data and visualizing information of construction activities in a (1) simulated virtual construction site, (2) outdoor construction setting, and (3) worker training environment. The results demonstrate that important construction information related to both safety and activity in field operations can be automatically monitored and visualized in real-time, thus offering benefits such as increased situational awareness to workers, Equipment Operators, or decision makers anywhere on a construction project or from a remote location.
-
laser scanning for safe Equipment design that increases operator visibility by measuring blind spots
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management-asce, 2013Co-Authors: Eric Marks, Tao Cheng, Jochen TeizerAbstract:One-fourth of construction industry fatalities are caused by worker collisions with construction Equipment. Nonvisible areas (blind spots) for Equipment Operators are contributing factors to many of these fatalities because Equipment Operators are unable to see ground personnel at certain locations around their Equipment. Presented are the design and validation of a unique technique for measuring blind spots by using laser scanning data. The work demonstrates how the design of construction Equipment impacts the visibility of its operator. The contribution of the developed technique to the body of knowledge is that it can precisely evaluate and compare different Equipment models and design characteristics. The blind spot measurement data for several similar pieces of Equipment provides design suggestions that increase operator visibility. By increasing operator visibility through advanced Equipment design, safety can be promoted on construction sites and in any other work environment, particularly with nearby ground workforce Equipment.
Hongwei Wang - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
proactive analysis of construction Equipment Operators hazard perception error based on cognitive modeling and a dynamic bayesian network
Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 2021Co-Authors: Fan Wang, Andy S K Cheng, Xincong Yang, Hongwei WangAbstract:Abstract Construction Equipment-related accidents are unarguably one of the most frequent types of construction accidents. Construction Equipment Operators’ hazard perception error (HPE) has been recognized as one of the primary reasons for these accidents. Operators’ hazard perception involves a series of cognitive functions that will change as the construction process evolves. Although the importance of hazard perception to construction Equipment operating safety is widely recognized, the analysis and interpretation of its cognitive processes, potential cognitive failure modes, underlying causes, and dynamic characteristics involved has not been fully addressed. Furthermore, there is still a lack of an effective method to quantitatively assess HPE evolution and changes in corresponding cognitive states over time. This study combines a cognitive model and dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) modeling to provide a qualitative and quantitative proactive analysis of Operators’ HPE. Considering the lack of prior knowledge of Operators’ HPE in the construction industry, computational models of several key cognitive functions and multiple information sources were integrated to determine the conditional probability distributions of the DBN nodes. The method's feasibility was validated with a case study. Researchers and practitioners may customize the model to quantify the occurrence tendency of Operators’ HPE under a specific construction condition to assist in proposing countermeasures to reduce and mitigate HPE.
-
Identification and classification of construction Equipment Operators' mental fatigue using wearable eye-tracking technology
Automation in Construction, 2020Co-Authors: Waleed Umer, Xuejiao Xing, Hongwei Wang, Shukai Zhao, Jun HouAbstract:Abstract In the construction industry, the operator's mental fatigue is one of the most important causes of construction Equipment-related accidents. Mental fatigue can easily lead to poor performance of construction Equipment operations and accidents in the worst case scenario. Hence, it is necessary to propose an objective method that can accurately detect multiple levels of mental fatigue of construction Equipment Operators. To address such issue, this paper develops a novel method to identify and classify operator's multi-level mental fatigue using wearable eye-tracking technology. For the purpose, six participants were recruited to perform a simulated excavator operation experiment to obtain relevant data. First, a Toeplitz Inverse Covariance-Based Clustering (TICC) method was used to determine the number of levels of mental fatigue using relevant subjective and objective data collected during the experiments. The results revealed the number of mental fatigue levels to be 3 using TICC-based method. Second, four eye movement feature-sets suitable for different construction scenarios were extracted and supervised learning algorithms were used to classify multi-level mental fatigue of the operator. The classification performance analysis of the supervised learning algorithms showed Support Vector Machine (SVM) was the most suitable algorithm to classify mental fatigue in the face of various construction scenarios and subject bias (accuracy between 79.5% and 85.0%). Overall, this study demonstrates the feasibility of applying wearable eye-tracking technology to identify and classify the mental fatigue of construction Equipment Operators.
-
Evaluating the impact of mental fatigue on construction Equipment Operators' ability to detect hazards using wearable eye-tracking technology
Automation in Construction, 2019Co-Authors: Jue Li, Waleed Umer, Hong Fu, Heng Li, Hongwei Wang, Xuejiao XingAbstract:Abstract Construction Equipment related accidents, such as collisions between Equipment and pedestrian workers, pose a major challenge to occupational safety at construction sites. Decrement of Operators' hazard detection ability resulting from attention failure is a leading cause of these accidents. Although mental fatigue induced by prolonged and monotonous operating tasks is known as the primary cause of this type of failure, little is revealed on how mental fatigue influences Operators' ability to detect hazardous situations and associated visual attention features. To address this issue, this study uses wearable eye-tracking technology to evaluate the impact of mental fatigue on Operators' ability in hazard detection and the corresponding patterns of visual attention allocation. Twelve healthy participants performed a simulated excavator operating task in a laboratory experiment. Subjective mental fatigue assessment, hazard detection task performance, and eye movement metrics were recorded and analyzed. In the experiment, mental fatigue was effectively induced and manipulated by a Time-On-Operating (TOO) procedure. Results revealed that Operators' hazard detection ability decreased with the increase in subjective mental fatigue level, reflected by significant increases in reaction time for hazards and the number of misdetections. Attention allocation-related data were further analyzed to explain the specific manifestations of hazard detection failure in visual attention. The results indicated that the decrease of Operators' hazard detection ability is associated with the changes of the distributions of fixation and gaze point while mental fatigue level increases. Consequently, clear observation of surrounding hazards and related details becomes difficult for Operators. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of wearable eye-tracking technology in measuring and quantifying Operators' mental fatigue and hazard detection ability. More importantly, the findings offer insights into the impairing effect of mental fatigue on Operators' hazard detection ability from a visual attention perspective. Such insights provide a solid basis for developing effective safety interventions and attentional guidance-based safety training methods to mitigate relevant site accidents.
Debra T Silverman - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
lung cancer in heavy Equipment Operators and truck drivers with diesel exhaust exposure in the construction industry
Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2003Co-Authors: Bengt Järvholm, Debra T SilvermanAbstract:Background: Several studies indicate that truck drivers have an increased risk of lung cancer, but few studies have examined lung cancer risk in heavy Equipment Operators. Workers in both occupations are exposed to diesel exhaust. Aims: To examine the incidence and mortality from lung cancer among truck drivers and among drivers of heavy vehicles. Methods: A computerised register of Swedish construction workers participating in health examinations between 1971 and 1992 was used. Male truck drivers (n = 6364) and drivers of heavy construction vehicles (n = 14 364) were selected as index groups; carpenters/electricians constituted the reference group (n = 119 984). Results: Operators of heavy construction Equipment experienced no increased risk of lung cancer compared to risk among the carpenter/electrician referents (61 cases v 70.1 expected). However, a significant inverse trend risk with increasing use of cabins was apparent. Truck drivers had increased risks of cancer of the lung (61 cases v 47.3 expected) and prostate (124 cases v 99.7 expected), although only mortality for lung cancer was significantly increased. Comparisons with the general population showed similar results. Conclusion: Results are consistent with those of previous studies suggesting that heavy Equipment Operators with potential exposure to diesel exhaust may have little or no increased risk of lung cancer, although the use of cabins seemed to decrease the risk of lung cancer. The results for truck drivers are also consistent with previous reports of increased lung cancer risk among truck drivers exposed to diesel exhaust, as well as recent reports linking diesel exhaust exposure to prostate cancer.
Eric Marks - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
performance test of wireless technologies for personnel and Equipment proximity sensing in work zones
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management-asce, 2016Co-Authors: Jeewoong Park, Yong K. Cho, Eric Marks, Willy SuryantoAbstract:AbstractThe dynamic nature and limited work space of roadway work zones contribute to dangerous working environments for construction workers. This environment can result in hazardous proximity situations because pedestrian workers are required to operate in close proximity to heavy construction Equipment. A total of 609 work zone personnel fatalities were reported in 2012. Previous analysis of work zone fatality data found that the majority of the pedestrian worker and mobile object struck-by fatalities resulted when pedestrian workers were struck by construction Equipment. These statistics indicate that current safety practices for pedestrian workers and Equipment Operators are inadequate. The objective of this study was to create and evaluate a proximity detection and alert system using Bluetooth sensing technology. The scope included hazardous proximity situations between pedestrian workers and construction Equipment in roadway work zones at grade. Evaluation metrics were implemented to assess the tes...
-
performance test of wireless technologies for personnel and Equipment proximity sensing in work zones
Transportation Research Board 94th Annual MeetingTransportation Research Board, 2015Co-Authors: Jeewoong Park, Yong K. Cho, Eric Marks, Willy SuryantoAbstract:The dynamic nature and limited work space of roadway work zones contribute to the dangerous work environment for construction workers. These characteristics can create hazardous proximity situations because pedestrian workers are required to operate in close proximity to heavy construction Equipment. A total of 609 work zone personnel fatalities were experienced in 2012. Previous analysis of work zone fatality data found that of the pedestrian worker and mobile object struck-by fatalities, a majority resulted from pedestrian workers being struck-by construction Equipment. These statistics indicate that current safety practices for pedestrian workers and Equipment Operators are inadequate. The objective of this study was to create and evaluate a proximity detection and alert system using Bluetooth sensing technology. The scope is hazardous proximity situations between pedestrian workers and construction Equipment in roadway work zones at grade. Many evaluation metrics were implemented to assess the tested proximity sensing systems including the cost, time and ease of calibration, required hardware, system capabilities, and many others. Commercially available radio frequency identification (RFID) and magnetic field proximity sensing systems were also evaluated to provide a basis for comparison. Various interaction scenarios between pedestrian workers and construction Equipment were used in the evaluation of the system. Experimental results demonstrate that the created proximity detection and alert system 1) requires minimal infrastructure, 2) provides adequate alerts to Equipment Operators and pedestrian workers, and 3) provides additional layers of hazard avoidance in real- time during hazardous proximity situations in roadway work zones.
-
method for testing proximity detection and alert technology for safe construction Equipment operation
Construction Management and Economics, 2013Co-Authors: Eric Marks, Jochen TeizerAbstract:The US construction industry continues to be among the leading industries for workplace fatalities after experiencing 818 fatalities in 2009. Approximately 21% of these fatalities resulted from workers being struck by an object or piece of construction Equipment. The nature of construction sites often produces hazardous conditions by requiring ground workers and heavy construction Equipment to operate in close proximity. The primary objective is to present a method for testing proximity detection and alert systems. Experimental trials were designed to deploy emerging radio frequency (RF) remote sensing technology to demonstrate the ability of the test method to evaluate the capability of proximity detection and alert systems to provide alerts when heavy construction Equipment and workers are in too close proximity to each other. Numerous field experiments were designed and conducted to emulate typical interactions between workers on foot and construction Equipment. These devices were installed on pieces of construction Equipment in an outdoor environment to evaluate the test method for proximity detection and alert systems. Experimental results show that proximity detection and alert technologies can provide alerts to Equipment Operators at different pre-calibrated proximity alert ranges. The results suggest that the presented testing method adequately evaluated the reliability and effectiveness of the proximity detection and alert technology in the construction environment.
-
laser scanning for safe Equipment design that increases operator visibility by measuring blind spots
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management-asce, 2013Co-Authors: Eric Marks, Tao Cheng, Jochen TeizerAbstract:One-fourth of construction industry fatalities are caused by worker collisions with construction Equipment. Nonvisible areas (blind spots) for Equipment Operators are contributing factors to many of these fatalities because Equipment Operators are unable to see ground personnel at certain locations around their Equipment. Presented are the design and validation of a unique technique for measuring blind spots by using laser scanning data. The work demonstrates how the design of construction Equipment impacts the visibility of its operator. The contribution of the developed technique to the body of knowledge is that it can precisely evaluate and compare different Equipment models and design characteristics. The blind spot measurement data for several similar pieces of Equipment provides design suggestions that increase operator visibility. By increasing operator visibility through advanced Equipment design, safety can be promoted on construction sites and in any other work environment, particularly with nearby ground workforce Equipment.
-
proximity sensing and warning technology for heavy construction Equipment operation
Construction Research Congress 2012, 2012Co-Authors: Eric Marks, Jochen TeizerAbstract:The United States construction industry experienced 151 fatalities resulting from workers colliding with objects and Equipment in 2009. These fatalities accounted for approximately 18% of the total construction fatalities and 3% of the total workplace fatalities experienced that year. Construction workers and Equipment are often required to function at close proximity on construction jobsites. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of emerging radio frequency (RF) remote sensing technology that can promote safety in construction by providing real-time alerts for worker-on-foot and construction Equipment Operators when a potentially hazardous proximity situation exists. Numerous experiments designed to emulate typical interactions between workers-on-foot and construction Equipment, including installing proximity sensing devices on actual construction Equipment, were used to evaluate the proximity sensing technology. Results from the experiments indicate that real-time pro-active proximity sensing and warning technology can promote safety on construction jobsites.
Janice W Yager - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
thermal burn and electrical injuries among electric utility workers 1995 2004
Burns, 2007Co-Authors: Tiffani A. Fordyce, Michael A. Kelsh, Jack D Sahl, Janice W YagerAbstract:This study describes the occurrence of work-related injuries from thermal-, electrical- and chemical-burns among electric utility workers. We describe injury trends by occupation, body part injured, age, sex, and circumstances surrounding the injury. This analysis includes all thermal, electric, and chemical injuries included in the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Occupational Health and Safety Database (OHSD). There were a total of 872 thermal burn and electric shock injuries representing 3.7% of all injuries, but accounting for nearly 13% of all medical claim costs, second only to the medical costs associated with sprain- and strain-related injuries (38% of all injuries). The majority of burns involved less than 1 day off of work. The head, hands, and other upper extremities were the body parts most frequently injured by burns or electric shocks. For this industry, electric-related burns accounted for the largest percentage of burn injuries, 399 injuries (45.8%), followed by thermal/heat burns, 345 injuries (39.6%), and chemical burns, 51 injuries (5.8%). These injuries also represented a disproportionate number of fatalities; of the 24 deaths recorded in the database, contact with electric current or with temperature extremes was the source of seven of the fatalities. High-risk occupations included welders, line workers, electricians, meter readers, mechanics, maintenance workers, and plant and Equipment Operators.