Health Check-In Apps Seen as Key Way to Limit Viral Outbreaks on Jobsites
Arriving at a jobsite during the COVID-19 pandemic has seen familiar sign-in sheets and fast-moving turnstiles replaced by infrared temperature checks and updated PPE briefings.
[For ENR's latest coverage of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, click here]
But many contractors are also turning to online health surveys at points of entry to speed the screening process and help reduce the likelihood of a person who is feeling ill from coming onto the site.
"I'll always remember March 17," says Kyle Peacock, CEO of San Francisco-based Peacock Construction. As the Bay Area went under lockdown that week, he had to adapt to keep essential construction sites operating, while complying with new city and state regulations on pre-screening workers at site for COVID-19 symptoms. "At first we did check-ins with paper just to get it done, but we knew there has to be an easier way to do this," says Peacock.
Knowing this was going to be a nightmare across the more than 40 jobsites his company was on in the Bay Area, Peacock started talking to software developer David Ward, who saw an opportunity. Click here to read the entire article.
How Artificial Intelligence Can Enhance Workplace Safety as Lockdowns Lift
As the country begins to slowly reopen from the COVID-19 lockdown, many people are heading back to work. While this is great for the nation's supply chains and overall economy, a growing concern exists for an increase in the risk of transmission and the likelihood of cluster outbreaks within the workforce. This has the potential to not only compromise the health of staff members, but close facilities for weeks at a time and halt operations.
In an effort to mitigate this, many management teams are working to produce health and safety guidelines, like the mandatory wearing of personal protective equipment (PPE) and social distancing protocols to reduce the risk of cluster COVID-19 outbreaks. These guidelines, however, can only go so far, as it takes strict enforcement to ensure that personnel adhere to them--and compliance teams may already be stretched thin.
Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and the IoT have enabled a number of technologies to emerge that have the potential to keep workplaces healthier and safer through PPE detection, safety zoning and thermal imaging capabilities. Click here to read the entire article.
Las Vegas Contractor Employs "Opti-Clean Cube" Against Covid-19
A Las Vegas-based design build general contractor, SR Construction, has deployed the first Xtreme Opti-Clean Cube in the fight against Covid-19.
Produced by Xtreme Cubes Corporation, a manufacturer of modular buildings based in Henderson, Nevada, the Xtreme Opti-Clean Cube (XOCC) is a modular walk-through station designed to combat the spread of Covid-19, bacterias, and other viruses.
Partnering with Proguardeum Corporation, an environmental technology company, and Maddox Defense, Xtreme Cubes says it has built the first mobile walk-through structure produced in the U.S. with an unobtrusive dry mist system of the Proguardeum solution that is safe on skin, clothing and requires no protective equipment to be worn. Click here to read the entire article.