Raising the safety of cranes using gaming technology

Monash University research into fatal crane accidents has sparked the development of gaming technology that could enhance crane safety on construction sites.

Cranes are involved in a significant number of injuries and fatalities on construction sites across the world. The most frequent incidents are associated with either people being hit by crane parts and loads or electrocution when cranes operate too close to high-voltage powerlines.

In an incident during September, a man in his 40s died when he was allegedly struck by a kibble containing wet concrete, which fell from a boom crane at a construction site in Box Hill, Victoria. In May, a Queensland worker sustained serious injuries after he was crushed by a truck-mounted crane.

Last year, a $24,000 fine was issued to a construction company in Victoria after it allowed a crane to operate near high-voltage powerlines without any pre-work safety assessments.

According to Dr Yihai Fang from Monash University’s Department of Civil Engineering, current practices in lift planning and operation are ineffective and severely out of date in terms of recognising and mitigating potential safety risks. He said they can’t respond to the increasing complexity of construction sites which puts workers’ safety in jeopardy.

“Current practices cannot ensure a safe workplace during crane lifts because of a number of deficiencies in existing planning techniques — the most severe being inadequate consideration to avoid cranes swinging over workers,” he said.

During the Monash University research project into fatal crane accidents, Dr Fang’s team turned to gaming technology to help them develop simulation software that allows them to pre-plan and practise risky lift manoeuvres in a close-to-reality and risk-free virtual environment.

His team has developed a Lift Virtual Prototyping (LVP) system which enables the lift team to plan lift activities through a process of modelling, simulation and analysis.

The following video demonstrates the LVP system in action:

The team can use the system to optimise the crane’s location and lift path based on pre-designed models and accurate cloud data that represents the workspace, including up-to-date spatial constraints at the time of the lift.

Prior to undertaking the task, workers can build a virtual prototype of a crane lift in a virtual, risk-free environment and collaborate with other workers to carefully plan and time risky manoeuvres.

In addition, Dr Fang’s team created a Real-time Smart Crane system that can capture the crane motions and monitor the spatial clearances between the crane parts/load and surrounding entities. Results from rigorous field testing with real cranes on construction sites and offshore platforms have been integrated into this system.

The following video demonstrates the Real-time Smart Crane system in action:

The system can also detect if a worker approaches or walks into the crane workspace, and assessments can be made as safety issues emerge.

“This technology alerts the crane operator if workers move into the danger zone under heavy loads so they can adapt accordingly,” Dr Fang said.

“With an emphasis on workplace safety and improved project management practices, we’re hoping to engage industry partners to support further research in this important area. No worker should feel unsafe while on the job and these new technologies might provide a life-saving solution.”

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