Modernizing Access and Time Clocking at Construction Sites with Computer Vision

The construction industry has unique requirements for the safety, security, and mobility of personnel, contractors, resources, and equipment. Construction projects can be multi-year projects that use heavy duty machinery, hazardous equipment and supplies. Furthermore, these machinery, resources, and personnel can be from multiple contracting companies. Modernizing the entry points of these sites requires a multi pronged approach with careful evaluation of Security/Access Control features, Time Clocking and Temperature Scanning.

Security and Access Control

Managing physical access at a construction site has always been a challenge for the industry. Most of the sites use badge readers or third party security guards to manage the entry process.  As projects can range from a couple of weeks to several years, these manual labor intensive processes become very expensive throughout the project's lifecycle. Traditionally, construction projects have relied on leasing trailer site offices and having all the workers sign entry forms in the trailer before entering the site. These systems have multiple challenges such as: extremely  time consuming entry process, uncomfortable worker movement and reliance on a manual paper based system. The modern site entry systems are equipped with computer vision based smart access turnstiles using Facial Authentication of workers. Access privileges are easily managed with a smart backend to add or disable workers in real time. At some mid-to-large construction projects, renting or leasing site entry systems can exceed $100,000. In addition to the costs and security expectations of customers, there are additional requirements for construction sites to operate, including: Identification for authorized personnel, Safety Checks (during COVID), Time keeping for compliance and payroll, and On-boarding/Off-boarding of personnel and contractors. 

Time Clocking and Thermal Scanning

Time keeping has many implications within the construction industry, from effectively budgeting for projects, ensuring personnel working hours don’t exceed the daily compliance limits (including travel time), and payroll for the hours worked. Many construction projects face significant challenges with time keeping and compliance, as the two common forms of time clocking are badging & the paper-based honor system. This can result in significant health & safety risks and potential equipment and project damage due to loosely managing excessive working hours and increasing the probability of fatigue. Even though there are several additional challenges and requirements for construction projects, on-boarding & off-boarding of changing personnels is critical for a healthy worksite. There can be many different contractors, at different times throughout, that work on a particular project. Effectively and efficiently ensuring the access of these employees is critical for safety, onsite compliance, operations & costs, and security. 

A drop-ship solution is an ideal way for construction companies to cost effectively manage site access and time keeping. The Safe Site Entry physical security gate system reduces site entry system cost, is available for all project sizes, provides centralized and controlled access, and automated jobsite personnel monitoring and reporting. Two of the key features of the Safe Site Entry units are its Facial Recognition based Access and Authentication System and an Elevated Skin Temperature based Thermal Scanning. This technology can greatly increase the safety of workers and mitigate risk to the site, by ensuring only approved workers enter the site and by screening workers for adverse health conditions. 

Some of the many benefits of a safe site entry include:

• Centralize control of all site(s) entry systems. With an option to onboard and off-board workers quickly. You can disable access for a worker at the end of his contract instantaneously eliminating any risk of entry by unauthorized personnel.
• Efficient and fast flow of people at site entry and exit. Oloid’s facial recognition based time clock and access system is one of the fastest entry solutions in the industry today. You can cut down long lines by enabling access in less than 0.5 secs.
• Eliminate the need for access control cards. Access Control Cards are expensive and a high security risk. There have been instances when a stolen card is used to gain access into highly secure areas. Eliminating physical cards can boost the security of the construction site by many folds.
• Eliminated “buddy swiping” and payroll frauds. Though the percentage of payroll fraud recorded against using proxies or buddy swipes is less than 2%, it can become a significant value for a large construction site managing 24hr revolving shifts. Make sure only authorized personnel enter the work area with a facial authentication.
• Enabled text or email alerts. Dealing with the COVID era contact tracing requires work sites be aware of “who is working at the site” at all times. With automated email and text alerts, site managers can be alerted of unauthorized entry or exit from the site.
• More accurately track labour costs. Having a live view of the workers onsite at all times can also help in tracking the cost of the shift in real time. It eliminates the need to reconcile manual timesheets at the end of the week to determine the actual cost of the shift.

Oloid has spent a significant amount of time understanding the unique site requirements of various construction projects spanning from large industrial construction sites managed by large construction companies like PCL to much smaller home construction projects like door and window framing. Oloid’s mission is to provide a solution that not only addresses the requirements, but does so in a way that delivers an improved experience.