Constructing an edge in safety with AI vision

McConnell Dowell has been at the forefront of leading complex projects for over 60 years. The company has built thousands of iconic landmark assets and facilities, ranging from city-shaping infrastructure to remote resources and energy projects. Notable projects include the Level Crossing Removal Project in Melbourne, coastal protection in Adelaide, and improvements to the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney.

With over 3,000 employees, the team’s remit spans building, civil, electrical, fabrication, marine, mechanical, pipelines, rail, tunnel, and underground construction.

But with scale and complexity come constantly changing safety challenges.‍

An eye on innovation 

At McConnell Dowell, the team approaches every project with a focus on creativity and certainty. Finding the right blend of innovation and proven approaches is key to delivering high-value and low-risk outcomes.

For crew and HQ, that certainty came in the form of  Blindsight by Presien. With 100,000 hours of development and curation to ensure reliable detections, Blindsight detects, alerts, and informs on-site teams of high-risk people-plant interactions. 

In an environment where innovation and safety go hand in hand, Greg Evangelakos, Alliance Health and Safety Manager at McConnell Dowell knew Blindsight could help.

“We want to make sure our team members working with plant equipment have the best technology to support them. Any innovation that allows us to make our construction sites safer is an advantage. It can only be a good thing for the industry to have Blindsight on sites.”

Constructing an edge in safety

In high-risk construction areas, the possibility of people getting struck by a piece of plant or hitting infrastructure is a reality. To help mitigate this on the Western Program Alliance (WPA) project, part of the Level Crossing Removal Project (LXPR) in Melbourne, eight Blindsight units were installed across a range of subcontractor plant in 2022, including a roller, grader, water truck, Franna crane, skid steer, and excavators. 

“Blindsight not only gives an audible alarm, but it also shows the operator when someone has moved into the danger zone with the in-cabin display,” Greg explains. 
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Better yet, the extra safety control has led to noticeable behavioural change and a proactive safety culture, says Carmen Nadinic, Senior Safety Advisor, McConnell Dowell:

“There has been a key change in behavior on-site; having Blindside makes people a little bit more proactive. People actually think about what they're doing and aren’t walking behind blind spots or moving plants, which is really nice to see.”

Making data meaningful for McConnell Dowell 

Blindsight detections are distilled into crucial video clips capturing the before, during, and after of each detection, alongside timestamps, risk analysis and location. This allows the McConnell Dowell team to efficiently categorise incidents into ‘safe’ or ‘unsafe’. 

By delving into the data, the team has identified ways to advance safety beyond operator alerts. They’ve built an education and awareness of blind spots on different types of plant and a better understanding of how to resolve and mitigate these very real risks. 

“Having data to look back on means that when we plan our scopes of work, we can actually put in the correct controls to ensure that personnel aren't in the way of plant equipment,”  Greg Evangelakos explains.  

Today, Blindsight is a critical tool used both by onsite crew, safety team members and leadership at McConnell Dowell. From operator alerts and data for daily toolbox reporting to worksite safety benchmarking, Blindsight unlocked a new level of site visibility and positive behaviour change. 

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