Construction Site Safety and Technology: Navigating the Risks of AR/VR Headsets

The construction industry is increasingly exploring the potential of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) to enhance project efficiency and accuracy. Devices like the Apple Vision Pro, Magic Leap, and Microsoft HoloLens are often showcased on social media as cutting-edge tools for overlaying BIM models onto real-world construction sites. While the benefits of these technologies are compelling, there are significant safety concerns associated with their use on active construction sites. This blog post delves into the potential dangers of AR/VR headsets in construction environments and outlines best practices for ensuring safety.

The Safety Concerns of AR/VR Headsets on Construction Sites

AR/VR headsets, though innovative, come with inherent risks that can endanger construction workers. Here are some of the primary safety concerns:

1. Obstructed Vision: AR/VR headsets can obscure a worker’s view, increasing the risk of accidents. This is particularly dangerous when operating tools, working near moving equipment, or navigating areas with trip and fall hazards. Even basic safety threats like low-hanging elements, slip hazards, and electrocution risks can be overlooked when vision is compromised.

2. Limited Situational Awareness: Wearing AR/VR headsets can reduce a worker’s situational awareness. Construction sites are dynamic environments where workers need to be constantly alert to their surroundings. Any reduction in awareness can lead to severe accidents or injuries. See this article from the OSHA website for further details on what is considered situational awareness.

3. Eye Fatigue and Vertigo: Prolonged use of AR/VR headsets can cause eye fatigue, leading to discomfort and reduced alertness. Eye strain can impair a worker’s ability to focus on tasks and detect potential hazards. Immersive HMD devices can also cause vertigo in some users, which can potentially lead to dizziness and nausea. Vertigo is typically caused by a lag due to frame-rate drops, or other hardware-related issues.

4. Power Loss and Blackouts: AR/VR devices rely on battery power. A sudden power loss can result in a total blackout, leaving the user momentarily blind. This can be extremely hazardous if it occurs while navigating a complex or dangerous area.

5. OSHA-Related Hazards: There are numerous Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hazards that can be amplified when using vision-obstructing AR/VR headsets. These include:

   • Fall Hazards: Inability to see edges or openings.

   • Struck-by Hazards: Being unaware of moving vehicles or equipment.

   • Caught-in/between Hazards: Not noticing machinery or heavy materials that could entrap or crush.

   • Electrocution Hazards: Missing warning signs or live wires.

   • Slip Hazards: Inability to see liquid/chemical spills that could cause the worker to lose their balance.

Best Practices for Using AR/VR on Construction Sites

Given the safety risks, it is crucial to adopt best practices when using AR/VR technology on construction sites, especially when using any sort of HMD (Head-Mounted Display):

1. Always Work with a Partner: Workers using AR/VR headsets should never be alone. A partner can monitor the surroundings and alert the user to potential hazards, ensuring a safer environment. The partner should act as a spotter, and actively provide situational awareness to the worker while using an HMD.

2. Limit Use to Safe Zones: Restrict the use of AR/VR headsets to designated safe zones away from high-risk areas. Avoid using these devices near heavy machinery, ladders, slab-edges, or hazardous materials.

3. Monitor Surroundings, Alertness, and HMD power: Users should remain aware of their surroundings even while using AR/VR headsets. Regularly pausing to check the environment can help mitigate risks. Also, be aware of the user’s mental state to check for any dizziness or vertigo, and ensure the HMD device has adequate battery life to avoid a power failure or blackout. 

4. Avoid Walking Backwards: Never walk backwards while viewing an AR session. This practice increases the risk of tripping and falling.

5. Adhere to OSHA Guidelines: Always follow OSHA safety practices and your organization’s safety protocols. Do not compromise on safety standards for the sake of using technology.

Why FieldAR Chooses Smartphones and Tablets

FieldAR has deliberately chosen to develop its AR solutions for smartphones and tablets rather than AR/VR headsets for the time being. This decision is rooted in safety and efficiency:

1. Better Situational Awareness: Smartphones and tablets allow users to maintain a broader field of vision, reducing the risk of accidents caused by obstructed views.

2. Ease of Use: These devices are more familiar to users and do not require extensive training. They also allow users to quickly switch between viewing the AR model and observing their surroundings providing unencumbered situational awareness. Since most workers have a smart phone or access to a tablet, FieldAR doesn't require any additional expensive equipment in order to access AR+BIM.

3. Efficiency: FieldAR’s solution enables quick access to BIM models via QR codes, which are converted into highly compressed formats for seamless loading. This ensures that even with poor internet connectivity or lower-end devices, the AR model remains accessible and functional.

4. Enhanced Safety: By not fully immersing the user in a virtual environment, smartphones and tablets provide a safer alternative that aligns better with the dynamic and hazardous nature of construction sites. By viewing the AR session on a handheld device rather than a HMD device, the risk of eye-fatigue and vertigo is significantly reduced.

Conclusion

While AR/VR headsets offer exciting possibilities for the construction industry, their use on active construction sites comes with significant safety risks. Obstructed vision, reduced situational awareness, eye fatigue, and the potential for power loss are just a few of the hazards that can jeopardize worker safety. By adopting best practices such as working with a partner, limiting headset use to safe zones, and adhering to OSHA guidelines, these risks can be mitigated.

FieldAR’s approach of using smartphones and tablets prioritizes safety and efficiency, offering a practical and easy-to-use solution that enhances construction workflows without compromising worker safety. As technology continues to evolve, it is essential to balance innovation with safety to ensure the well-being of construction workers while harnessing the benefits of AR. 

While FieldAR has been built specifically for handheld devices for now, we currently have an experimental app for the Apple Vision Pro device undergoing internal testing. While safety and ease of use are our first priority, we envision use-cases for FieldAR on HMD devices in the future, but perhaps only for certain users who are familiar with these devices. Since our core mission is to get AR+BIM in the hands of everyone on construction sites, our team is dedicated to developing the hand-held version of FieldAR that requires zero training and is cheap and accessible for everyone on your jobsite.