Construction Law

Measuring the Efficacy of Wearable Devices featured image

Measuring the Efficacy of Wearable Devices

Wearable devices, commonly referred to as personal protective equipment (PPE), are designed to protect workers on the construction site from external hazards such as sharp or falling objects. Although these devices are touted as providing benefits for the health of workers, it’s important to test the efficacy of these devices to ensure that workers aren’t misled to believe they are safer than they truly are. A Boca Raton construction lawyer can help you ensure that your project sites are compliant with pertinent laws, including those related to PPE.

Potential Safety Benefits

Whenever one of your workers puts on their PPE, they don’t question their safety. Common types of PPE including hard hats or helmets, glasses, harnesses, vests, gloves, boots, and more protect your workers from suffering serious injuries. Highly sensitive areas like the eyes and the ears would be quickly compromised by the rough conditions on a construction site.

Some of the most common construction-related injuries include:

  • Burns
  • Electrocution
  • Eye injuries, including impaired vision or blindness
  • Broken bones
  • Knee and ankle injury
  • Neck, shoulder, and back injury
  • Spinal cord injury, paraplegia, or quadriplegia
  • Illnesses related to toxic chemical exposure
  • Head injury and brain injury

Fortunately, you can help your workers remain unscathed by educating them about the benefits of PPE and ensuring that PPE is being used at all times when working on the project site.

A Collaboration to Improve Safety on the Project Site

A newly announced three-way collaboration between The Travelers Companies, Gilbane, and Triax Technologies aims to explore the efficacy of PPE. The project, which will outfit over 130 workers with wearable devices for the next 20 months on a six-story, 60,000-square-foot project in New York City, will utilize insights gained from data to assess the safety benefits of PPE. Ideally, the companies will be able to use this data to not only determine the best PPE on the market but to also explore how data-driven technology can influence the building process.

As a contractor, the fate of your project is directly related to the health of your employees, so keeping them safe is of paramount importance. Fortunately, construction professionals are teaming up with the tech industry to improve worker safety and usher in a new era of accident-free construction.

If you would like to speak with a Boca Raton construction attorney, please contact us today.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.