October 2020 NEXT Coalition Partners
NEXT Coalition Partners ‘Construction Safety Challenge’ announced for first pilot efforts
Created by a coalition of top tier U.S. & global construction and engineering firms, The NEXT Coalition Construction Safety Challenge sought out companies with emerging technology solutions to be deployed and used on job sites as a NEXT Coalition partner.
As a result of the global pandemic and a continued push for safety, the coalition aimed to connect emerging technology with industry leaders to safeguard and protect the lives of workers and their communities.
The NEXT Coalition is banned together by six major companies: Black & Veatch, DPR Construction, Haskell, McCarthy, Swinerton, and Truebeck Construction. The coalition recently announced it’s first five chosen pilot projects and respective technology partners to keep crews protected against challenges such as COVID-19.
Over 84 applications were submitted, of those, GoContractor, Kwant.ai, Smartvid.io, Opal and Versatile were amongst the first NEXT Coalition partners selected for use on the coalitions first pilot projects.
“The volume and breadth of submissions to the challenge have been impressive,” said Ryan Pletka, Vice President, Innovation and Strategy at Black & Veatch. “Over the summer, we’ve had dozens of meetings with startups and established companies alike. It paints a positive picture of how we as the construction industry are responding to this unique and complex threat to the safety of our workforce, our clients and our communities.”
The NEXT Coalition Construction Safety Challenge partners include businesses that provide wearable technology for contact tracing and social distancing, digital pre-screening of workers, and smart video monitoring for health and safety.
The first NEXT Coalition Partner Construction Safety Challenge pilots are:
GoContractor
GoContractor is an online contract worker management platform that facilitates COVID-19 protocols by providing contact-free registrations, socially distanced site-specific, and standard safety online orientations, zero-contamination check-in, and check-out and central compliance tracking. GoContractor works faster and safer than in-person, paper-based orientation by collecting contractor registration online, letting contractors complete orientations before they set foot on the worksite, and allowing managers to verify workers, monitor their qualifications and get crews cleared to go back to work.
Kwant.ai
Kwant.ai is a construction analytics platform that helps keep workers safe while reducing project impacts during construction. Workers carry trackable chip cards on-site with real-time location data collected by IoT beacons. Should a worker tests positive for COVID-19, managers are able to use a geospatial dashboard, retracing worker movements in relation to others on-site.
Smartvid.io
Smartvid.io helps monitor COVID-19 safety practices on construction projects. Smartvid.io uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make automated safety observations from progress photos that a General Contractor can captures on its job sites using other software such as Procore. Smartvid.io’s AI engine, Vinnie, detects and reports on a wide range of safety practices such as housekeeping, work at height, and COVID-19 practices such as social distancing and face mask compliance. and gloves compliance.
Opal
Opal is a cost effective, no charge, wearer passive, patent-pending IoT wearable Real-Time Location System (RTLS) solution that covers safety, security, and operational challenges for people and assets involved in large, complex job sites. Should a worker becoming ill with COVID-19, Opal can use real-time alerts and historical reports, identifying where the worker was located and who they came in contact with while on site. Alerts to management can be set up when workers are in too close of proximity or occupy a zone.
Versatile
Versatile turns existing cranes into control towers. Versatile’s CraneView™ solution uses hardware and software, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, to utilize cranes as smart devices that provide actionable insights. CraneView is a multi-sensor unit that can be attached under the hook of any crane. The sensors measure data points such as load, weight, motion, rigging, material, location, tasks, and idle times. This data offers insights that optimize crane utilization, driving up production rates.
Learn More
The NEXT Coalition continues to accept and encourage new applicants to apply for its safety challenge. Companies with developing technology solutions, that can be used to address current and future problems in the field and office, are encouraged to apply. To learn more about the NEXT Coalition, click here.
