COVID-19: Social Distancing in Construction with One.site
A strict health and safety protocol is expected to be at the forefront of every housebuilders’ and subcontractors’ minds. Although deaths and new cases of the coronavirus pandemic continue a downward trend, there is still an incredibly high risk of catching the disease.
Measures have been put in place to prevent the spread of the virus across nearly every industry. The construction industry, in particular, has taken big health and safety strides in order to adhere to social distancing measures that are in place in many nations around the world.
Due to the busy nature of construction sites, social distancing has already proved incredibly difficult for many firms on sites big and small.
Tech-Driven PPE
Thankfully, the power of technology has the potential to solve this problem through the use of an advanced PPE solution. One.site is a construction health and safety software provider that launched just last month, with an ambitious aim to combat the challenges countless construction sites are facing during the pandemic.
One.site has launched a wristband designed to aid social distancing and has recently announced that trials of the products have proved to be a success. Leading housebuilder, Bewley Homes, intensively tested the wristband with large positive results.
Game-Changer
The One.site wristbands have been designed with the use of proprietary technology. The tool has been designed with consideration for construction workers and enables them to comply with on-site H&S measures in a non-invasive way.
The wristband is very lightweight and discreet and houses an ultra-sensitive sensor which alerts the user through the use of vibrations when another wristband is detected within a two metre distance. Another great benefit of the wristband is the incredibly low price. It retails at a 90% lower price point than similar solutions on the market.
One.site’s founder, PJ Farr, states “I’ve been astonished by the price of many construction-specific social distancing solutions. When you’ve got hundreds of sites with thousands of personnel and subcontractors to get back to work, the costs become eye-watering. We’re trying to get the industry up and running again and I don’t think charging hundreds of pounds per unit sends the right message. Nor does it encourage mass adoption. We’ve taken a conscious decision to make the wristbands available at a competitive price. We hope this will motivate housebuilders to implement social distancing technology on a large scale.”
Another benefit of the wristband is that smartphones or personal data is not required for the device to work effectively, meaning it’s accessible for anyone who doesn't have a smartphone, or one who may have concerns about the storage and use of their personal data.
Farr expanded on this point, saying: “All other portable social distancing devices rely on a smart phone or personal data, raising a couple of issues. For a start, some workers on-site will not have a smartphone, rendering those devices redundant and the use of personal data creates a minefield of issues, not least the GDPR headache it’s going to cause in the back office.”
He then went on to explain: “The emergence of this technology is crucial in the current climate, these wristbands will help personnel better identify when they are in breach of social distancing measures in a secure way. It’s part of a wider scheme, alongside our already established remote induction and contactless sign-in technology.”
To find out more about how One.site is building a safer future post COVID-19, take a look at the website.
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