Early Warning System for Construction Workers using RFID Radar - Abstract

This design project aims to reduce the number of struck-by injuries on road construction sites.

The Problem: Struck-by Injuries in Roadside Construction Sites

Canadas construction industry has the highest rate of injuries of all canadian industries, and the majority of these injuries are struck-by injuries. A struck-by injury is defined as an injury produced by forcible contact between the injured person and a piece of equipment. The request for proposal (RFP) restricts the scope of the problem to the road construction industry, and specifically injuries from being struck by construction vehicles on the site [1]. There are three stages leading to a struck-by injury: the worker becomes distracted; a threat arises, but the distracted worker is unaware; and physical contact between the worker and the threat results in an injury [1]. Thus, the problem can be solved by preventing one or more of these three stages from occurring.

The Solution: Early Warning System using an RFID Radar Tracking System
The approach taken focuses on warning workers of potential threats. An RFID-Radar system is used to monitor the construction site and detect hazards. This system uses radio frequency identification (RFID) tags attached to each person and vehicle that allows a central antenna with a computer processor to identify the tags and track their motion in real-time [2][3]. The position of workers and vehicles as well as their speed can be determined by analyzing the radio signals returned by their tags using radar principles [2][4]. From these positions, a radius of safety around each worker is calculated for each approaching vehicle based on a humans reaction time and the speed of the vehicle. A hazard can then be identified as a vehicle entering within a workers radius of safety. When a hazard occurs, the radius of safety allows a warning to be sent with sufficient time for the worker on foot and the vehicle operator to avoid each other. This warning is sent to both the worker and the vehicle operator as a radio signal which is converted to an audible alarm in their earpieces. Sending the signal directly to the workers ear by radio ensures that the warning is heard even on a noisy construction site where the workers are wearing hearing protection.

Evaluation of the Solution

The computer processor also includes a graphical user interface (GUI) through which workers can sign in and out of the construction site or associate themselves with vehicles. The GUI is convenient to use and causes little lost time, thereby maintaining efficiency of the project. The small size and weight of the RFID tags and earpieces also maintain the comfort and efficiency of the workers. A drawback of the solution is that it cannot reliably detect every hazard. For example, private vehicles passing through the construction site cannot be tagged, and stationary vehicles may have moving components that can cause injuries [5][6].

References
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