Why Your Construction Company Needs Smart Helmets

What is a smart helmet?

Smart helmets are hard hats with built-in technology made specifically for construction workers. Depending on the make and model, smart helmets can provide specialized features, like impact detection, real-time health monitoring, early warnings that can help employees avoid dangerous accidents, data visualization, and livestreamed audio and video.

Clark Lowe, president and CEO of the O’Connor Co., a North Carolina-based construction firm, said the adoption of smart helmets can increase worksite safety. According to Lowe, smart construction helmets can even replace multiple pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE).

“Traditionally, employees may have a helmet for eye and ear protection, and keeping track of all the equipment can be a pain,” he said. “Having all this protection fixed to the helmet makes employees more likely to use the PPE.”

What are the features of smart helmets?

The features of smart helmets depend on the model, but they usually focus on safety and data collection. Here are some of the helpful functions you might find on smart helmets.

Health monitoring

Smart helmets may allow you to monitor workers’ vitals to ensure they stay healthy. This technology can provide early warnings of potentially dangerous conditions or locations, as well as identify when a user is too tired or unfocused to safely perform their tasks. The data is tracked in real time and is available via a central hub.

Hands-free visual data

Working in tight spaces or at high altitudes while carrying auxiliary devices such as tablets poses safety risks. However, it’s often necessary for workers to carry these tools to access or record data. With a smart helmet, that information is accessible through the visor, meaning workers can keep their hands free for balancing and performing their duties.

Proximity safety

People who work on construction sites or around heavy machinery face a significant risk of accidents. Smart helmets can offer forward- and rear-facing depth-sensing cameras. If the helmets sense dangerously close proximity to an object, they send an audible and/or visual alarm.

Data overlay

Data overlay or visualization gives your workers access to real-time data, thus reducing the need for them to travel back and forth to computer terminals. For example, if a user has to restart a system or a piece of machinery, they don’t have to go back to the office to get a status report; they can get it right on their smart helmet’s visor. 

Another way to take advantage of this feature is to integrate it with highly rated construction estimating tools, which can measure labor and inventory costs for construction projects, estimate how long building will take, and manage work data while you’re on the go. 

Thermal vision

Thermal vision can greatly increase workers’ safety, as it lets them visualize, record and analyze temperature data in their immediate environment.

Guided work instructions

With intuitive AR instructions, smart helmets can show your team the processes or tasks that need to be completed and how to do them. You can also send your own instructions from your central monitoring system to a worker.

Live support

Disaster can ensue if a worker attempts a task they’re unqualified to perform. However, waiting for an expert can be time-consuming and reduce efficiency and productivity. Smart helmets feature remote expert support, so workers can make and receive calls from their visor to request and receive assistance. There’s also augmentation support, so the support person can walk the worker through a task with visual aids.

Data collection

Outfitting your workers with smart helmets is an accurate, unobtrusive method for collecting all kinds of data about your workforce and what’s happening on jobsites. Monitoring your employees’ health can improve their well-being. Additionally, healthy employees are more productive and efficient. Other data helps you track when your workers are at peak productivity and when their focus ebbs. Once you’ve identified any weak spots, you can take steps to boost motivation and optimize productivity.

Augmented-reality blueprints

Using technologies like AR and built-in cameras and sensors, smart helmets allow users to visualize and perform job duties in entirely new ways.

“There are a few smart helmets available in the market space that offer features like augmented reality displays,” said Yaeir Moinzadeh, a licensed contractor and owner of Blue Rise Roofing in Baltimore. “Using such features, workers can complete tasks more accurately and efficiently.”

What are the pros and cons of smart helmets? 

As with any other tool, smart helmets have both benefits and drawbacks. Here are a few of each.

Pros of smart helmets 

• They can keep workers safe. Smart helmets come with built-in safety features, such as the capability to detect potential crashes or collisions on a worksite. Sensors on the helmet’s rim can measure the gradual decline of a person’s head, track speed, and monitor the individual’s surroundings to assess probable risk. The helmet can even warn a person to slow down if they’re moving at a dangerous speed.
• They send emergency notifications. If an accident occurs, a smart helmet can notify an individual or their colleagues that a crash is about to happen. By connecting to a mobile app, the helmet can also allow a person to send their current location or a message to contacts if they are injured. 
• They gather data about accidents. If a worksite accident occurs, smart helmets’ cameras can trace a person’s bearings and help prevent head trauma. It can assess head and neck posture after a crash to identify any wounds and prevent neck injuries. The helmets save the data gathered by the sensors for further investigation.
• They’re comfortable. Smart helmets are comfortable, allowing workers to perform their job effectively. Lowe and Moinzadeh agreed that smart helmets are often more comfortable than traditional hard hats, thanks to their customizable fits and well-ventilated designs.

Cons of smart helmets 

• They are distracting. Smart helmets, similar to cell phones and other recreational devices, allow users to play music and communicate with others, and these features may limit a worker’s focus and attention. Whether workers are driving or operating machinery, distraction is an important matter to consider with the use of smart helmets.
• They are expensive. While smart helmets offer all kinds of benefits, their utility and convenience correlate with a steeper price, making them less accessible for smaller firms. According to Lowe, a smart helmet “fully equipped with all the bells and whistles” can cost more than $1,000.
• They haven’t been brought to market. Smart helmets, though useful and ultramodern, have been manufactured mainly by startups that haven’t fully launched their products. Many of these prospective businesses emerged onto the playing field with fanfare, but their highly anticipated products fizzled out. Although there are smart helmets available for preorder, most companies haven’t actually delivered their official product. There are some exceptions, such as the company Jarvish, which sold its smart helmets outside the U.S. However, the United States hasn’t seen this technological dream come to fruition yet. In addition, many consumers prefer supporting well-known brands that have proved time and again that their products are safe, comfortable and high-quality. 

What is the best way to incorporate smart helmets into your construction company?

Although smart helmet technology is still in its infancy, the ongoing trials show these devices’ incredible potential to transform the workforce.

For construction companies looking to incorporate smart helmets into their operations, Moinzadeh recommended starting with a pilot program and exploring partnerships with manufacturers that can offer your workers training and support.

“Business owners can begin by equipping a small team with smart helmets and, afterward, collect their honest feedback regarding its effectiveness,” he advised. “By following this approach, you can understand the benefits and challenges before making a larger investment.”

Sean Peek contributed to this article.