BY KATIE KUEHNER-HEBERT
While there is no substitute for human oversight to ensure that jobsites are as safe as possible, leveraging AI-powered technologies can help enormously in this endeavor. We share the details of two such technologies that AGC members are utilizing to minimize incidents and reduce injuries.
Eyes on Site
EarthCam Inc., based in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, an AGC of New York State, LLC member, is a leader in providing webcam content, technology and services. Founded in 1996, it provides live streaming video, time-lapse construction cameras and 360-degree reality capture for corporate and government clients.
EarthCam pioneers AI software and services that are highly relevant for the construction industry, said John Marsha, EarthCam’s sales director for security and risk management. AI Object Detection already recognizes specific vehicle types, and AI proximity advisories are sent when workers are close to energized equipment or at height. Additional services include
activity heat-maps, AI waste monitoring, weather data and AI-edited time-lapse videos.
“EarthCam AI and Edge Computer Vision can now surpass the ability of human observers, so that teams can act more quickly based on concise and targeted information,” Marsha said. “AI-detected events and observations can be shared with automated alerts, tags and visualizations.”
EarthCam’s Edge Computer Vision and AI Object Detection software sends customized alerts based on predefined actions such as when people climb a ladder, work on scaffolding or operate an elevated scissor lift, he said. Safety personnel can retrieve detailed recorded video to verify safe practices are being observed, fall protection is applied and personal protective equipment (PPE) is correctly worn.
“EarthCam can help both contractors and insurance providers to better manage and analyze risk using construction data,” Marsha said. “Increasingly, insurance carriers are incorporating the use of technology on jobsites as a condition for coverage. EarthCam is uniquely positioned to provide AI analytics demonstrating PPE utilization levels, document the incidence of workers at height, weather, waste and manpower.”
EarthCam offers many security options, such as trailers and perimeter detection systems that generate essential alerts for security, vandalism and theft detection, he said. AI Object Detection recognizes specific vehicle types, or unauthorized interactions with equipment or vehicles. Alerts may be sent to EarthCam’s Central Station Monitoring, where trained professionals review the incident, assess the risk and dispatch law enforcement as necessary.
“Insurance companies require perimeter detection systems on stick builds over $20 million, so having a camera on the site that can dispatch first responders means the fire department can get there within 10 minutes of the fire starting,” Marsha said. “This, coupled with the ability to generate essential alerts for security, vandalism and theft detection based on visual or auditory triggers, helps companies proactively respond to potential property damage.”
Increasingly, insurance carriers are encouraging the use of technology on jobsites, sometimes as a condition for more favorable coverage, he said. EarthCam is uniquely positioned to easily deploy leading edge camera technology with powerful AI analytics to help customers secure the best insurance terms.
“Our imagery and intuitive SaaS platform serve the needs of contractors in helping them get the insurance terms they’ve earned while providing data for carriers and brokers so they can take on risk intelligently,” Marsha said.
EarthCam AI not only can enhance safety on jobsites, the technology can also boost efficiency, he said.
“EarthCam AI can automate menial tasks such as looking through thousands of images to find the few of them that are going to have an impact on the bottom line, freeing up time for personnel to take on more high value tasks,” Marsha said. “EarthCam AI helps increase productivity, safety and efficiency on jobsites, and ultimately can help contractors compensate for the labor shortage in construction.”
It can also impact budgets, according to Paul Smedberg, a vice president at C.D. Smith Construction Inc., an AGC of Wisconsin.
“EarthCam has been a godsend to me because my jobsites are typically across the country, and it’s cut my travel budget for each individual job by at least 75%,” Smedberg said. “There isn’t a day that goes passed that I don’t log into that camera probably five times. The live
actual real time is night and day to the seven-minute snaps. I can physically see the authenticity of what’s been delivered to me via phone or email. From that standpoint, I’m very comfortable using it, and I use it often.”
EarthCam greatly enhances safety on jobsites — a very important aspect to leveraging the technology, he said.
“With live EarthCam, I can validate, verify and archive any instances where I may have very good safety behavior — or possible negative safety behavior — so that I can react accordingly to make sure we correct that,” Smedberg said.
The contractor is employing a full rotatable controllable camera, and the clarity on that zoom “is way better than one would expect” — with little to no pixelation so users can pull out accurate detail, he said.
“In all industries nowadays, we have to quantify and qualify and that’s probably what it does for me more than anything,” Smedberg said. “It allows me to maintain from a visual that what I have on a schedule on paper is actually happening within the field. I consider it my third arm of project management.”
Crane Brain
Versatile’s AI-powered CraneView platform, rebranded Versatile, delivers actionable insights about crane picks so contractors can make better business decisions, says Meirav Oren, co-founder and executive chairman of the Los Altos, California-based company, a South Florida Chapter AGC member.
“After more than 10 million crane picks with Versatile devices attached to cranes, the AI-driven platform’s dataset is now incredibly rich,” Oren said. “We’re capturing thousands of new picks a day, so our database has dramatically increased, allowing us to launch even greater AI capabilities than what we had in the past.”
Versatile looks at construction as manufacturing because building something is manufacturing it, and while it is not a factory, Versatile was founded to empower the boots on the ground so they control their process, she said.
“Now that’s easier said than done because we are looking at the most fragmented and non-structured manufacturing process on Earth,” Oren said. “The wholehearted belief for Versatile is if we can seamlessly get data out of the jobsite using the crane, then interpret that data and put it back in the hands of the decisionmakers on the ground — then the industry could have that control.”
Versatile’s device has multiple sensors and it clips under the crane hook in four seconds, she said. The load-bearing components are made by the Crosy Group, which partners with Versatile in safety. There is zero manual entry, and the only action by the team is a weekly battery swap.
Production data that is captured by the sensors includes load type, process (such as installation or stripping of formwork or installation or shakeout of steel beams) and accurate time broken into four distinct steps — a movement to load, rigging, a movement with load, un-rigging/installation. The data is processed in the cloud and returns to the field as actionable insights.
“Superintendents know exactly how long things take, who has performed what tasks, and how to maintain best practices while acting upon opportunities to improve,” Oren said. “This practical AI tool gives contractors what they need to make their own decisions to be more productive and safer.”
Versatile creates a baseline that users can utilize to constantly drive for even better results, while maintaining safe best practices and “winning in their own game,” she said. Contractors can only improve what they can measure — and Versatile seamlessly sheds light on events the industry could not measure before.
Safety directors can also look at specific elements, such as critical lifts, or even specific steps such as rigging and specific loads such as straight rebar to learn and teach. Safety directors can also fully understand near-misses, to determine what practices need to be changed to prevent accidents.
“Every improvement starts with high-quality measurement and data,” Oren said. “Versatile provides the right data to the right field personnel, at the right time to empower them to act. We are inspired by our users and continue to build with and for them!”
Gilbane Building Company, a member of multiple AGC chapters, leverages Versatile’s solutions, said Francisco Montenegro, one of the company’s general superintendents.
“I call Versatile my eye in the sky,” Montenegro said. “Versatile provides a fact-based, reliable accounting of what transpires on our jobsite daily. Our team reviews the daily reports to ensure that our operations are executed as planned, in the safest and most efficient way.”
For example, the technology provides insights on whether the material laydown areas are where they should be, whether the crane lifts are happening as scheduled and what caused delays when the crane was idle, and whether the durations are consistent with the team’s expectations.
“Seeing all this data also allows the project team to monitor and address safety protocols and scheduling assumptions, helping the team see areas for improvement based on real-time, irrefutable documentation,” he said. “When we see something that can be improved, we can address it immediately. That’s an incredible benefit.”
The Versatile team also sends Montenegro and his team insights that tell them where they deviate from their own measured operations, so they can pay attention to these outliers.
“Versatile data cannot be refuted — you can’t argue with the sensors and AI analysis capturing materials and processes,” he said. “It removes personal perceptions and offers an unbiased assessment of what’s really happening on the ground and in the air.”
The alerts that are incorporated into the system are critical for operations. The project team is alerted immediately if a crane load is too heavy or strays from the agreed-upon safety and operational protocols.
“We have a collaborative and transparent relationship with the Versatile team, working together to maximize the platform,” Montenegro said. “Meirav Oren and the Versatile team are always seeking our input on how the tool could be leveraged or updated to accommodate specific requests.”
One incident on-site led Montenegro to ask if the platform could address critical crane picks — if a load is over a certain weight, the team wants to know that in advance through an alert. While there’s a lot happening on the jobsite concurrently, the alert brings focused attention to a critical activity.
An unexpected benefit of the Versatile platform pertains to scheduling, he said. All major activities at the jobsite are required to be logged into the schedule daily, which allows the team to clearly see the anticipated workflow and make adjustments as needed.
“Thanks to this tool, we never have overlapping activities,” Montenegro said. “And because it’s the only platform to present the actual usage, by the individual pick, side by side with the planned schedule, we have documented evidence of durations for subcontractor payments.”
The flow of an efficient and safe jobsite is predicated on clear, unobstructed paths of access and egress, he said. The aerial view that Versatile provides is holistic, providing invaluable analysis of time, trends and outliers to activity benchmarks.
“Extra eyes on our operations are a tremendous help,” Montenegro said. “Data analytics and reporting make us safer and more efficient. Seeing things from an aerial perspective is invaluable. We can easily see where our equipment is placed or if a laydown area could be in a more advantageous place.”
Construction is “a people business,” and Versatile is a great example of a tool that empowers people by giving them what they need to know — and could not know without this AI — without trying to tell the professionals what to do or replace them, he said.
“All the digital tools cannot replace the human interactions and relationships we build and maintain to complete our work,” Montenegro said. “These tools enhance the connections and collaboration we build with our trade partners, but our teams’ shared goals and culture
propel progress.
“Leveraging these tools brings us together as a team, empowers us to make real-time decisions, establishes new and improved protocols, and truly offers teachable moments for all of us, seeking a safe and successful outcome every day,” he said.