Hitachi develops in-house system to visualise behaviour of workers

Hitachi has developed a system that visualises the behaviour of workers and field supervisors using beacons inside construction sites and smart devices. From June 2017, Hitachi will launch a moving state management service that uses this system, allowing supervisors to assign the most suitable person, machine or material at a construction site to boost safety and efficiency.

With this service, managers can optimally assign ‘man, machine and material’ at a construction site, streamline work schedules and bolster safety management. The service works by gathering positional information of workers such as occupied areas, rates of occupation and state of communication through the use of multiple Bluetooth low energy beacons and smart devices.

This initiative follows the collaboration between Hitachi and Taneka Corporation between March and May 2016 where field tests were conducted at the construction site of Changi International Airport Terminal 1 Expansion in Singapore.

Results of the field tests showed effectiveness of the system, to which Hitachi began considering applicable markets and developing applications ahead of commercialisation from June 2016.

Other than improving productivity, the system would also promote a safer environment. Future initiatives will include the development of a safety management system that sends an alert when a staff is near a restricted area; based on the worker visualisation feature which combines worker movements and work progress.