Engineering-out hazards: digitising the management working safety in confined spaces

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to report upon the further development of a hybrid application programming interface (API) plug-in to building information modelling (BIM) entitled confined spaces safety monitoring system “CoSMoS”. Originally designed to engineer-out environmental hazards associated with working in a building’s confined spaces (during the construction phase of a building’s life-cycle), this second generation version is expanded upon to use archival records to proactively learn from data generated within a sensor network during the building’s operations and maintenance (O&M) phase of asset management (AM). Design/methodology/approach An applied research methodological approach adopted used a two-phase process. In phase one, a conceptual model was created to provide a “blueprint map” to integrate BIM, sensor-based networks and data analytics (DA) into one integral system. A literature review provided the basis for the conceptual model’s further development. In phase two, the conceptual model was transposed into the prototype’s development environment as a proof of concept using primary data accrued from a large educational building. Findings An amalgamation of BIM, historical sensor data accrued and the application of DA demonstrate that CoSMoS provides an opportunity for the facilities management (FM) team to monitor pertinent environmental conditions and human behaviour within buildings that may impact upon occupant/worker safety. Although working in confined spaces is used to demonstrate the inherent potential of CoSMoS, the system could readily be expanded to analyse sensor-based network’s historical data of other areas of building performance, maintenance and safety. Originality/value This novel prototype has automated safety applications for FM during the asset lifecycle and maintenance phase of a building’s O&M phase of AM. Future work is proposed in several key areas, namely, develop instantaneous indicators of current safety performance within a building; and develop lead indicators of future safety performance of buildings.

The Mediating Role of Job Competence between Safety Participation and Behavioral Compliance

“…Safety behavioral compliance is usually defined as “the core safety activities that need to be carried out by individuals to maintain workplace safety” [ 1 ]. At the construction site, the lack of safety behavioral compliance poses safety risks and a higher probability of accidents among workers [ 2 ]. In the construction industry, hundreds of thousands of people die every year due to safety accidents.…”

Building Information Modelling and Internet of Things Integration for Facility Management—Literature Review and Future Needs

“…Topic [86,88,90,94,95,99] Fire risk [87,89,92,93,96,98] Workers/Users Health and Safety (H&S) [91,100] Multi disaster (earthquake, flooding, and fire) countermeasure [97] Emergency response of utility tunnels [101,102] Excavation risks…”

A Systematic Review of the Extent to Which BIM Is Integrated into Operation and Maintenance

“…Efforts to dynamically connect BIM-based H&S management system during O&M with programmed maintenance cycles for historical industrial plants was explored in [123]. Furthermore, safety by design to improve the O&M phase was studied in [124].…”