Eyes in the back of your head
June 1st 2009

Traditionally installed to provide security and crime prevention, the use of sophisticated CCTV and remote monitoring facilities is now also providing construction site managers with additional health and safety benefits, as Leerose director, Graeme Oliver explains

Given the myriad of potential dangers on any site, robust management of health and safety practice is essential. Supervisors, foremen and charge hands provide local leadership and manage the day to day completion of tasks but active monitoring, meanwhile, is usually a line management responsibility that is more pro-active and structured. This form of monitoring means checking aspects of health and safety against agreed plans, performance standards and specifications; it establishes the yardstick by which performance is measured.

As desirable as it might be, management cannot monitor each individual construction worker round the clock and there may well be occasions when workers don't always follow the agreed methods of work. Some workers may have a poor understanding of what they are meant to do, they may not fully appreciate the risks involved or, faced with time pressures, they may simply cut corners or take unnecessary chances with potentially fatal consequences.

All of which has led some construction companies to turn to CCTV cameras and remote monitoring to ensure that management can keep an eye on work practices even when they are not physically on site. Capitalising on existing technology installed to provide security, site managers are now using the same systems to ensure that health and safety practices are adhered to and maintained.

One such system is SiteWatch from Leerose Integrated Systems which comprises intelligent dome cameras linked to high speed 3G and broadband video transmission technology. CCTV cameras are strategically positioned to cover all areas and continually patrol an entire construction site. With pan, tilt and zoom capabilities, the cameras are able to deliver high definition images to a virtually 'real time' remote control room where staff can take effective control of the system and get detailed visual information on individuals, whether intruders or their own construction workers.

Remote monitoring Using simple to use viewer software, from desktop PC's and laptops, managers can monitor their project and view site footage from their head office, at home or on the move, all without dial-up charges using a simple broadband or 3G connection. With complete overview of a construction site, a manager can remotely assess every aspect of health and safety procedures, from the tidiness of a site and the correct storage of materials, through to the appropriate use of tools and equipment, down to the detail of whether operatives are all wearing the necessary protective clothing for example hard hats, goggles, safety boots or gloves.

On construction company Beva's two most recent business park developments; Merlin Park in Trafford Park, Manchester and the Greenvale Business Park in Littleborough, external security is provided by cameras, external passive infra red (PIR) detection devices and horn speakers. The cameras continually patrol the sites and pictures are fed back to a central control room at Beva's Rochdale headquarters. As Beva's project manager, David Cheetham explains, "The SiteWatch system enables us to monitor any events as they unfold across all sites."

Recorded evidence Another potential benefit of this system is the retrospective use of its recorded images as evidence in the event of a health and safety breach or as part of any investigation or claim concerning on-site accidents and injury.

The growing 'compensation culture' that could lead to false claims for accident or injury on site and result in serious prosecutions and heavy fines for the construction company involved, is another reason why an accurate CCTV record of all on-site events could be invaluable.

While managers and supervisors can't be on site 24/7, or have eyes in the back of their head, they can be reassured that modern technology means it is now possible to have round the clock surveillance of everything that happens on their construction site.