Ex-ante assessment of struck-by safety hazards in construction projects: A motion-planning approach

Struck-by accidents are one of the major causes of fatalities and injuries in construction projects. While the likelihood of struck-by hazards is significantly affected by the layout of a jobsite, sequence of activities, and movement patterns of equipment and workers, there is currently no existing methodology for ex-ante investigation of struck-by safety hazards during the construction planning phase. In this paper, we propose a preliminary methodology for evaluation of struck-by safety hazards using a motion planning approach. We solve the problem of finding collision states and obstacle free paths for working in the middle of moving machinery and in the presence of various obstacles. We present, propose, and implement efficient algorithms to create safe routes for workers that avoid static and moving obstacles. We present a detailed case study of a common construction task involving struck-by hazards. We discuss several avenues for future work that could transform into robust methodologies for safety planning in complex construction projects.