Rescue technology for construction workers being developed

Rescuing trapped construction workers in emergencies such as a fire or a building collapse is the focus of new smartphone technology being developed by a team led by University of Canberra students.

Alexandria Garlan, Mitchell Harmer and their team were recently awarded a $50,000 Innovation Connect grant by the ACT Government Economic Development Directorate and have also won a $10,000 Kick Start grant from St George bank to both enhance an existing site safety app they created and develop a new one.

Tracking employees missing on site in an evacuation will be a new feature of their current app SignOnSite, which allows people to sign on or off a construction site (as required by legislation) using just their smartphone.

“With this new feature of the app, construction workers will be able to specify exactly where they are on site and the app can potentially live-track their movements in these high-risk environments. In the case of an emergency, this means rescue crews will have a better chance of knowing where missing people are without having to search the whole site for them,” Garlan, a construction management student, said.

Studying entrepreneurship and innovation, Harmer added that they hope the technology will only be needed in drills, but that if it has to be used in a real emergency it could save lives. 

“For example, rather than a firefighter searching an entire burning building to try and find a missing person, the app can show them that the person was last recorded being in a specific room, so they might be able to reach them quicker,” Harmer said.

“If there is an emergency, this technology will potentially increase the chance of survival for both an employee lost on site or the emergency services workers trying to find them.”

Along with the SignOnSite app, they are also developing a new stand-alone app called Lone Worker, where a construction site employee working solo will be able to let their employer know they are okay with just the click of a button, such as while they are without reception in a basement or elevator shaft.

The students are consulting with ACT Emergency Services and the construction industry for their apps. With Garlan also working as a project manager for Banyan Construction, they’re currently focusing on construction sites, but she said their technology has the potential to be transferred to any industry, “as health and safety applies to all workplaces”.

The students’ funding adds to the $35,000 they were awarded last year at the Innovation ACT awards to develop the overall SignOnSite application and their business, which operates under the motto ‘safety, first’.

The group is seeking industry consultation on their apps. To find out more, visit: www.signonsite.com.au.