Smart helmets, wristbands for construction workers among Hong Kong Housing Society’s new tracking system aimed at improving safety
- New technology tracks location, body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure of workers on construction sites
- But trade union leader Wong Ping advises authorities to make use of new technology voluntary, as workers may not want health information tracked
Hong Kong’s second-largest public housing provider is planning to introduce a digitised tracking system including smart helmets and wristbands that monitor workers’ health at construction sites in a bid to improve safety.
The measures follow a series of fatal industrial accidents in the city this month. The Smart Site Safety System (4S) was likely to be adopted at 16 public housing projects under construction after a trial run at a Kai Tak development site, the Housing Society told the Post.
“Besides finishing the housing projects on time, we pay rigorous attention to construction quality and safety,” said Franki Yeung Kai-yu, director of projects at the society.
The trial is under way, and the society said it planned to extend the system to other housing developments, such as one on Anderson Road near Sau Mau Ping, by the end of the year.
The technology provides real-time information about conditions on construction sites, which is then analysed by a control room to determine whether action should be taken to better protect workers.
“Through the system, we are able to track how many workers are currently on the site, and who isn’t wearing personal protective equipment,” Yeung said.
Construction staff, especially those working in high-risk areas such as lift shafts, are required as part of the trial to wear smart helmets and wristbands which track their location, body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure.
