Jobsite Safety

Jobsite Safety is Paramount. More profitable, lower insurance, higher quality and happier owners. Some owners will not work with contractors who do not make safety paramount. This series of articles by safety engineer David Dunham describes and provides hands-on applications to help more efficiently manage safety on construction projects.

Recent articles:

Snake Games to Safety Training: The Versatility of Claude Sonnet 3.5 Artifacts

In a recent article I compared GPT-4o to the newly released Claude Sonnet 3.5. There I mentioned that Sonnet's user interface had advantages over GPT-4o's. In this article, I'd like to explore that interface in more depth, exploring a particular feature that is quickly making Sonnet 3.5 my go-to LLM for safety management tasks.

Literature Review Extols Growing Benefits of AI in Construction Projects

Are you on the fence about whether artificial intelligence (AI) has a helpful role in your upcoming construction project? Then, it is probably worth knowing about a new peer-reviewed paper published in "Sustainable Cities and Society." The article surveys growing evidence of AI's potential for substantial impact on predictive maintenance, safety monitoring, resource optimization and quality control. Here's a summary.

Claude 3.5 Sonnet Vs. ChatGPT 4o: A Generative AI Comparison

In previous articles here on employing AI to support various aspects of construction safety, I have primarily relied on ChatGPT as the go-to generative AI tool for text generation. Other models haven’t shown themselves to be as useful, creative, reliable or fast as the latest ChatGPT model. That may have changed with the release of Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet ...

The Benefits of GPT-4o for Safety Professionals: Accessibility, Speed, and More

In May, OpenAI announced its latest LLM model, GPT-4o. The “o” in GPT-4o stands for omni, alluding to the model's capability to natively receive text, image, audio, and video inputs and deliver outputs in any one of the same formats. OpenAI’s demonstrations of these capabilities are downright impressive.

Talking to Robots: A Powerful–if Awkward–Way to Leverage AI

Lately, I’ve been talking to generative AI chatbots. No, this isn’t some AI girlfriend thing. What I’ve been talking to AI about is ideas. AI, specifically the ChatGPT iOS app, has become a virtual sounding board for my ideas about safety, writing, and life. This method of using AI has proven incredibly useful.

Creating an AI-Enabled Hazard Reporting System

Many construction companies use hazard reporting systems to engage the workforce in creating a safer work environment. These systems often incorporate some form hazard identification report that workers use to identify and report hazards they observe. Implemented effectively, such tools positively impact the identification and management of safety hazards ...

Agentic Workflows: The Future of Collaborative AI Interaction (with chat log)

To improve the output of generative AI models, we explore an exciting concept in AI development called Agentic workflow. Agentic workflows work differently than standard work with LLMs. Rather than an LLM generating its final output directly, an agentic workflow prompts the LLM multiple times, allowing it to build, step by step, a higher-quality output.

AI Poised to Improve Safety Levels in Construction Projects

Artificial intelligence’s (AI) ability to discern patterns unapparent to the human eye is already beginning to help improve safety and performance on construction projects. And the future looks bright for more positive impact, according to panelists at a webinar sponsored by Sensera Sytems on April 23.

Using AI Add-Ins in MS Word

Interacting with generative AI through developer websites has advantages and disadvantages. In your OpenAI account, you can access the ChatGPT interface and various features, such as plugins, GPTs and custom instructions. On the downside, you must copy everything from your ChatGPT conversation to a Word document and reformat it as necessary. But now, AI-enabled Microsoft Word Add-ins integrate ChatGPT's API into your MS Word.

Hiring Safety Consultants in the Age of AI

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Bard, and others have significantly leveled the playing field in writing ability, offering benefits like how calculators assist those less mathematically inclined in performing complex calculations. These advancements allow almost anyone to produce coherent prose. But that presents a pressing concern: a growing reliance of safety consultants on generative AI ...

Simplifying Compliance: The Doc Maker Plugin

Many regulatory requirements require employers to develop written plans and procedures. Take, for example, OSHA Standard 1926.1153 – Respirable Crystalline Silica, which mandates employers to establish a written exposure control plan to include elements such as task descriptions, engineering controls, workplace practices, and respiratory protection. Follow David Dunham's use of the Doc Maker GPT plug-in to to produce the OSHA documents, including housekeeping measures and necessary procedures.

AI Showdown: Bard vs. ChatGPT-Vision in Safety Analysis

AI vision is one of the most exciting advancements in artificial intelligence technology. More than other modes of AI, it’s easy to see how computer vision will enable all kinds of technologies, from automation to advances in wearable tech, like glasses. Computer vision also shows much promise in construction safety, alerting workers to hazards or tracking workplaces for emerging safety risks.