Construction Law

Wearables and The Construction Industry Part 1 featured image

Wearables and The Construction Industry Part 1

Whether it’s drones overhead or driverless vehicles among us, the construction projects are fast becoming innovation centers. When talking with clients and leaders within the construction industry, our Miami construction attorneys are hearing a great deal of excitement for the emergence of wearable technology. Wearables are fast becoming a tool for helping workers to perform their tasks in more dynamic ways.

What Are Wearables?

Wearables are technological devices that can be worn by the user. It’s most popular application is in the health and fitness industry. Devices like the Fitbit are worn and used to track heart rate and physical exertion. These devices can be used similarly in the construction industry. However, it’s business implications go well beyond how many steps you’ve taken in a day.

Pros and Cons of Wearables

Wearables have the potential to make great strides in protecting the health of workers and giving them the capability to perform their jobs more efficiently. However, the technology is hard to scale because of cost. It may also be difficult to get older workers to adapt to the new technology. It’s certain that these issues will be overcome with time, but for now, they hold back widespread adoption of wearables.

Wearables to Watch

Wearables are at the center of innovation in the construction industry with several new devices either currently on the market or launching soon. These include:

Body Sensors

Similar to how the Fitbit works for consumers, construction professionals are using wearables to capture data from workers’ movements. Data collected from body sensors can measure movement patterns and compare them to a worker’s output and injury history. These comparisons can help to make workers more productive and healthier.

Location Tracking Devices

Wearables, such as ID tags equipped with GPS technology, can be used to track employees on jobsites. There are a couple reasons why this information may be helpful to construction companies. From a security standpoint, requiring employees to wear GPS ID tags allows you to identify the presence of unauthorized individuals. GPS wearables, including bracelets, can also track movement throughout the work site and be compared to output to help companies devise an optimal work flow.

To learn more about wearable technology, visit part two of this series.

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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.