Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 2

One of the first causes of accidents on construction site is related to poor visibility and results in collision between workers and trucks backing up. Every year, over 20 000 construction workers are victims from such accidents. The addition of the reflective bands on high visibility garments is still not sufficient since they are effective mainly when light is directly shed upon them. Moreover the sound signal emitted by truck backing up is usually cover by the level of noise on site and becomes useless when the workers wear noise cancelling headphones. The integration of RFID tags within the high-visibility vest could allow detection of moving vehicles or equipment on the construction site and could trigger lighting elements such as LEDs which would also be embedded onto the vest. The intermittent flashing of the LEDs would alert both the worker and the driver, regardless of the position of one to another. This leading-edge development could have beneficial impact for both the workers and the construction industry which could profit from a better perceived safety climate and therefore a higher job demands as well as costs savings from avoided insurance payment in case of accidents. Moreover, the Canada could also take a leading position on the international stage regarding occupational safety measures and developments.