LED Technology Monitors Construction-Site Safety

A safety monitoring method called On-Site Visualization (OSV) has been implemented in metro system construction sites in Jakarta, Indonesia, as part of a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project.

OSV, developed by professor Shinichi Akutagawa of Kobe University, is a real-time data processing technology used to check safety levels at construction sites. A device with built-in LEDs is attached to walls and pillars at the building site and measures any irregularities or tilting. The LEDs light up like traffic lights to indicate the danger level with different colors: blue for "no irregularities", and yellow and red for "danger of collapse.”

Two LED devices are attached to walls, and change color to warn of danger, measuring small irregularities in structures. Courtesy of Kobe University.

The clear method of representation was designed for implementation in countries with low literacy rates, where an increase in public works has been accompanied by a sharp rise in the number of accidents. Researchers monitored safety levels using OSV for a fixed period at three metro system building sites in the center of Jakarta — two stations in the city center and an elevated track in the south. The project received a positive evaluation from the head of construction at Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit.

In many developing countries, an increase in public works is accompanied by a sharp rise in the number of accidents, and there is a growing need for safety monitoring.

The JICA project, titled Economic and Social Development Support in Developing Countries through Partnerships with the Private Sector, had participants from multiple private organizations in the OSV Consortium (an industry-academic collaborative group that promotes use of OSV technology).