IIT Delhi to develop smart monitoring system to prevent workplace accidents

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi are developing a smart monitoring system that can help detect and alert workers about unsafe conditions while working at height, the institute said.

All sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, building and construction, power generation, among others, place a high focus on worker protection.

The development of the smart monitoring system will add to their efforts in ensuring the safety of the workers.

"Falls from a height are one of the main causes of serious and fatal workplace accidents," said Prof. Husain Kanchwala, Centre for Automotive Research and Tribology (CART), in a statement.

With the proposed system, if a worker has not connected the safety gear while working at height, "the system will alert the user by audible warning alarm and also communicate to the supervisor and the safety in-charge via an app," he said.

Further, the smart monitoring system will also help in "detection of connection with anchorage by a user while working at height, to maintain trackability and to record the repeated safety violations which can be used for worker counselling and training", Prof Sunil Jha, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Delhi, said.

To develop the Smart Monitoring System (SMS), the research team signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Karam Safety Private Limited (KSPL) -- a global fall protection company, and FITT -- an industry interface organisation at IIT Delhi.