Real-time location tracking of multiple construction laborers

Abstract

A real-time location (RTL) system was developed to improve safety for multiple laborers in confined construction sites. The RTL system can monitor the location and movement of multiple laborers in real time. A portable RTL system with a low-battery mode was developed to accommodate various constraints in the construction site. A conventional RTL system that uses radio signal strength indicators (RSSIs) has high error, so an accelerometer with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) was added, and a calculation process is suggested. Field tests were performed for validation in underground construction and bridge overlay sites. The results show that the accelerometer and BLE can be used as effective sensors to detect the movement of laborers. When the sensor is fixed, the average error ranges 0.2–0.22 m, and when the sensor is moving, the average error ranges 0.1–0.47 m.