Nighttime road works and motorway improvements have increased in recent years with many road construction companies now choosing to undertake improvements overnight. While operating overnight provides clear benefits for those using the road network, minimising disruption and reducing diversions for commuters, there are serious implications for construction workers’ safety due to poor visibility and worker fatigue. Construction is a hazardous occupation and road construction is ranked as one of the most dangerous occupations in the world. Research has shown that 55% of incidents occur within the work zone itself, with the majority of worker deaths and injuries involving a moving vehicle. Blind spots on vehicles are a major contributing factor to collisions and are often the main reason ground workers are killed or injured. Poor visibility, due to working overnight, dusty worksites and difficult weather conditions, all exacerbate this issue. Meanwhile, ground workers who are required to wear ear defenders cannot always hear a vehicle approaching. Vehicle safety systems are helping to address this issue. While passive systems, such as mirrors and cameras, will help assist a driver to spot objects in a vehicle’s blind spot, active systems, including operator alerts and reversing alarms, ensure that drivers receive an immediate warning that an object is present and pedestrians are aware instantly that a vehicle is nearby. Emily Hardy of Brigade Electronics, a global leader in vehicle safety systems, explains the importance of active systems for nighttime working. “Work sites present a number of challenges when it comes to visibility. Not only are they dusty and dirty places to be, but when this is combined with nighttime hours or difficult weather conditions, it can become increasingly dangerous for ground workers to be spotted by those operating moving vehicles. Active safety systems are therefore crucial to assisting drivers and enhancing safety for workers operating in these conditions. This is why we always recommend that a combination of both passive and active systems, such as cameras and alarms, are fitted to vehicles for the ultimate safety solution.” These include Brigade’s award-winning Backeye®360, which provides the driver with a complete surround view of the vehicle in real time in a single image. The system combines images from ultra-wide angle cameras, resulting in a ‘bird’s-eye view’ of the vehicle and surrounding area in real time, meaning drivers can clearly see people and objects as they manoeuvre their vehicles. Active technology like radar obstacle detection can detect stationary and moving objects even in the harshest of environments, including in darkness, giving the driver an audible and visible warning when objects are within a certain distance. Heavy duty radar systems, which are waterproof and smoke resistant, can even operate in high or low temperatures, and can easily be heard in noisy environments, making them ideal for construction sites. One construction company which has benefited from installing safety technology on its vehicles is UK-based business Day Aggregates. It fitted Brigade’s Backsense heavy duty radar sensor system onto its fleet of shovel loaders, tele-handlers and trucks. In the last few years of recording incidents, which are split by ‘damage’ and ‘near miss’, the company has reported that this technology has been key to reducing incidents and improving safety. Operator Darren Harfield agrees. He said: “It (the radar) is an extra back up when looking in numerous mirrors and using reversing aids. If you’re distracted, for example because someone suddenly asks you a question on the radio, you can be trying to take in too much at one time. The radar system prevents this. There’s an in-cab display that presents different colours and beeps when anything comes within a certain distance of the vehicle, so it’s not just visual prompts, but audible alerts too.” 

Euramax demonstrates how modular construction can help the country build back greener Following UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement of £350 million in funding to help cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in industry, construction and transport, Yorkshire based windows and doors manufacturer Euramax explains how modular construction could help the country build back greener, as well as better. The funding, part of the “Build Back Better” campaign, is designed to help combat CO2 emissions and restore the economy’s position following the COVID-19 pandemic. Investments include support for materials innovation, including research into steel sustainability, and £26 million to support advanced building techniques. As well as boosting the construction industry’s productivity, it’s vital that the government’s funding positively impacts its environmental status. Currently, 39 per cent of global CO2 emissions are attributed to building and construction. Broken down, 28 per cent comes from the energy used to heat, cool and light buildings, while the remaining eleven per cent is from the materials and construction processes used. Just under half of the £350 million investment is being used to fund the use of innovative materials to cut emissions in the sector. Modular construction, the process of manufacturing parts of a building, known as modules, offsite and transporting them to site for assembly will significantly support all of the environmental focuses outlined by the government. “Apart from being cheaper and quicker to build, modular construction methods also have less environmental impact compared to traditionally constructed buildings”, said Nick Cowley, managing director at Euramax. “As modular builds can be completed 50 per cent faster, fewer resources are required, which also produces 90 per cent less waste. “Although glass, steel and concrete are fundamental materials in building and construction, their production is highly energy intensive, whereas 94 per cent of the materials used to construct a modular build are recyclable. All of these benefits point to a solution that is less harmful to the environment, further supporting the reduction of emissions across the sector”, added Cowley. Euramax, which supplies its windows and doors to a number of modular construction projects, has formed close relationships with modular home manufacturers Ilke Homes, for which Euramax is supplying the windows and doors for over 2,000 of its modular homes. “Modular builds are also environmentally friendlier to run because they are incredibly airtight. Energy efficiency is crucial in modular builds, and our products, which are rated A for their energy efficiency by the British Fenestration Ratings Council (BFRC), are perfect modular components. Higher energy efficiency means less power is required to heat a build, which could reduce overall emissions of the built environment.” “To “build back better”, we must actively do as much to build back greener, and investing in modular construction for this purpose is certainly a step in the right direction”. For more information about how Euramax supports modular construction go to www.euramaxuk.com.

 Four Tech trends transforming the way we work The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact across UK business and industry and we’re already witnessing a rapid and forced evolution in the way we work. For UK the construction industry, this is as much on site as it is at head office. Now, more than ever, it’s crucial for contractors to ‘Get Digital’, adopting game-changing new tech-backed systems and products to help improve the way work is delivered. So, what are the emerging and existing innovations to watch out for over the remainder of the year and beyond? With so many to choose from, it can all become a bit confusing. For this article, I will focus my attention on four technologies which I believe will help improve processes and procedure in construction, encouraging it to become more efficient, more productive and safer. Think big Big data is a term used to describe extremely large data sets, used to uncover hidden trends, patterns in behaviour and highlight unknown correlations to make more informed business decisions and serve as the basis for artificial intelligence and automation systems. Big data can be used in a number of ways. One important example is historic data, which can be analysed to pick out past risks and errors, identifying corrections and informing future decisions, to avoid potential pitfalls. This can also apply to weather, traffic, community and business activities to determine optimal phasing of construction activity. The design process is already seeing huge benefits from the power of big data, especially when it comes to planning and modelling. Collected data can be fed back into BIM systems at every stage of the construction journey to schedule future maintenance activity, a vital process as we aim for the elusive ‘Golden Thread of Information’. Hi Robot! It’s no secret construction is one of the least automated industries, where intensive, manual labour remains the norm. Currently, a key obstacle to AI playing a more significant role on construction sites is that robots require a controlled environment. Tasks need to be repetitive and non-variable. However, as we are now seeing modern construction methods increasingly using standardised designs and components, there is more potential to introduce AI-backed solutions to carry out certain tasks. It’s hugely advantageous to site managers who can gain efficiencies and save money through the delegate of repetitive tasks to this digital workforce. For example, robots could be employed to undertake activities such as pouring concrete, brick laying or welding, freeing up workers to concentrate on more complex aspects of the build. Taking over these highly repetitive tasks could significantly improve productivity and increase safety, whilst addressing the industry’s shortfall of labour. Furthermore, Machine Learning (ML) presents the opportunity to explore different variations of a solution and create design alternatives, taking into consideration the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems (MEP) and ensuring the routes for MEP systems do not clash with the building architecture.  Drone On The use of drones is becoming more commonplace within construction. This technology is instrumental in helping to survey site suitability and monitoring progress of the build. They can also help observe or access hard to reach or elevated areas. This is particularly useful when surveying HVAC and wiring in plant construction as well as many other civil engineering tasks. The technology in this field is developing fast, no doubt, it won’t be long before we see the drones conducting precision-heavy repairs by remote control. Drones can also be used to improve safety, monitoring the site and, with the use of cameras, identify any danger areas. This gives the construction manager a quick view of the location without him having to physically survey it. The logistical potential of drones has already been well explored, especially by organisations like Amazon. It’s no different for construction and there are plenty of opportunities for drones to deliver materials to site, particularly to make up any shortfall of smaller components needed urgently. This will reduce the number of vehicles required on site, improving the carbon footprint. 5G to support tech delivery To ensure all this exciting technology can be supported, 5G will be vital. Fundamentally, it will provide the strong, reliable connectivity required to effectively operate these high-tech systems, especially with the increasing reliance on big data. Significantly, 5G will boast faster speeds, better traffic handling and less network congestion. When used in conjunction with Wi-Fi 6, the newest standard in Wi-Fi technology, 5G will enable users to communicate faster and more effectively, share large scale drawings, and run resource heavy applications without compromising on speed and performance. Importantly, it will allow devices to perform faster data modelling and will allow faster computing on the cloud edge, delivering significant efficiencies during the construction journey. It’s a game changer and will, no doubt, accelerate digital adoption within the construction sector. However, there’s still some way to go and a certain degree of apprehension exists. What’s key is that we encourage the sector to make the investment now to secure the long term interests of the industry. It might seem like a large upfront cost, but it will be worth the effort when we deliver a more efficient, smarter and safer construction landscape.  PJ Farr, Managing Director, UK Connect Ltd