Volvo Construction Equipment has announced it is working on a research project to improve worksite safety.
Partnering with one of its Swiss construction customers, Colas, the Safer@Work project is testing the market-readiness of a range of prototype technologies at the company’s asphalt plant and quarry in Switzerland.
A people detection system uses artificial intelligence to alert the operator when a person is detected in the vicinity of the machine. Incorporating different warning systems for the operator and the surrounding pedestrians, the system reduces the risk of accident further.
Volvo CE engineers, with Colas support, had already been developing the algorithm for the system since 2016 but this was enhanced during the project.
“Safety is one of Volvo CE’s core values and we are actively working to create even safer worksites for employees, customers and anyone in the vicinity of our machines,” said Veit Kleeberg, chief project manager for Safer@Work at Volvo CE.
“When Colas approached us to partner on this research project we were keen to get involved. We used the ‘Design Thinking’ methodology – which involves putting the user first and finding out their needs before generating ideas – and came up with 27 concepts that could contribute to reducing the number of accidents involving employees and members of the public on construction sites. Together with Colas, we picked the three preferred concepts and we started to design and test them.”
Philippe Simarik, prevention, health and safety director at Colas, added, “We are working together to develop and test various new ideas. The most mature of those ideas is the people detection concept, and we hope to equip our machines with this system in the future. Our collaboration with Volvo CE has been extremely positive, together we have come up with a solution that will improve worksite safety.”
June 22, 2018
