Wearable Technology for Noise, Dust, Vibration Monitoring to Reduce Health Costs in Construction

建筑业被认为是一个危险的行业，尽管跌倒和机械导致的死亡率一直在下降，但工人死于健康不佳的可能性仍然是建筑业事故的100倍。例如，接触粉尘是一种常见的危险，可导致职业性哮喘和矽肺等呼吸系统疾病。大多数人都知道石棉的危险，但长期暴露在许多建筑材料中的二氧化硅也会导致肺癌和过早死亡。健康监测经常被用来检测暴露的影响，但可能已经造成了不可挽回的损害。现有的各种化学物质(如粉尘和蒸气)和物理试剂(如噪音和振动)的监测设备对员工来说是繁重的负担，对需要专业人员的雇主来说既耗时又昂贵。可穿戴技术作为一种潜在的实时监控解决方案正在加快步伐，这可能会提醒工人和他们的主管注意潜在的暴露。这将使干预和缓解得以进行，从而改善健康结果、提高生产力并降低健康不良的成本。然而，像许多新想法一样，在Casella这样的制造商能够证明他们的开发资金是合理的之前，必须对市场进行测试，因此这个项目旨在提供一个市场报告的证据，这将有助于建立一个商业案例。

Construction is considered a dangerous industry but whilst the death rate from falls and machinery has been reducing, workers are still 100 times more likely to die from ill health than an accident in the construction sector. Exposure to dust for example is a common hazard that can lead to respiratory diseases such as occupational asthma and silicosis. Most people are fimiliar with the dangers of asbestos but prolonged exposure to the silica found in many construction materials can also lead to lung cancers and premature death. Health surveillance is often used to detect the effects of exposure but irreprable damage may have already been done. Existing monitoring equipment for a variety of chemical (e.g. dusts and vapours) and physical agents (e.g. noise and vibration) is burdensome for the employee and time consuming and expensive for the employer requiring specialist personnel. Wearable technology as a potential solution for monitoring in real-time is gathering pace which could alert workers and their supervisors to potential exposure. This will allow interventions and mitigation to take place thus improving health outcomes, productivity and a reduction in the costs of ill health. However, like many new ideas the market has to be tested before manufacturers like Casella can justify spending their development money and so this project is intended to deliver a proof of market report that will help make a business case.