Summary

Despite the adoption of safety procedures and warning measures, the number of accidents involving collisions between workers and mobile machinery in the construction sector remains high. The presence of various types of mobile equipment with articulated parts on construction sites can lead to collisions, especially since the dynamic nature of and confined spaces on construction sites often mean that workers are in close proximity to machines.

Given the CNESST’s concerns in this regard, this survey presents the state of the art of human presence detection systems applicable to the construction sector that make it possible to detect hazardous proximity situations and alert mobile equipment operators or pedestrian workers in order to reduce the collision risks in real time.

This report explores the standards and regulations in force on the mandatory use of proximity detection systems for mobile equipment in certain industrial sectors. It discusses the main technologies for detecting people in the vicinity of mobile machinery and reviews the foremost occupational health and safety research focused on these types of devices. The report also includes a list of commercially available systems for equipment used in construction and related sectors, as well as an analysis on the benefits and limitations of each technology. Finally, all the systems intended for the construction industry are presented in detail and the state of knowledge is discussed to help guide research projects that could be undertaken to study this problem.