Walk onto any jobsite in America and you can hear the sounds of construction: the hum of saws, the clang of rebar, the rev of a diesel engine. But behind that rhythm is a hard truth: Construction is still one of the most dangerous industries in the country.

While the industry traditionally lags in terms of technology, contractors that leverage AI tools will lead safer jobsites and avoid becoming the next scary statistic. 

Construction accounts for roughly one in five U.S. worker fatalities, the largest share of any single industry, according to the BLS. The fatality rate sits at 9.6 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers, about three times higher than the all-industry average of 3.5 per 100,000.

And it’s not getting safer. In 2023, the BLS found 1,075 construction workers died on the job--the highest number since 2011. Falls are still the number one killer on construction sites, responsible for nearly 40% of all jobsite deaths. 

Recently, three men tragically fell to their deaths this year while working on a LNG terminal megaproject by Bechtel in Texas. 

"One of the most important takeaways from our review is the role that safety culture played—and, in some cases, failed to play," say Albert and Marsden in a recent ENR article.  "In reviewing the incident, we found breakdowns in oversight and supervision—where moments to step in and take corrective action were missed." 

Most accidents are avoidable. A shortcut is taken, a warning is missed, a small detail is ignored. For construction workers, these moments can mean the difference between going home safely at the end of the day or becoming a statistic.

Today’s AI tools can lead to less accidents–helping the modern jobsite keep construction’s most important asset, people, safe. 

Tech Oversight to Better Monitor Jobsite Safety 

Superintendents, foremen and safety managers can’t be everywhere at once to ensure workers follow all safety procedures. As more contractors grapple with the worker shortage, any tools that help leadership provide safety oversight using less manpower are invaluable. 

"Not having enough leaders means we probably aren't getting enough eyeballs on the workers who are out there now," Carvalho said in a recent Business Insider article. "When your job is to keep everyone safe, eyeballs are a very good thing."

AI provides the “eyeballs” and safety assurances contractors need while increasing workforce productivity–making the most of a strained workforce. 

“Our old manual process created multiple pain points, including our supervisors struggling to verify PPE compliance by visual inspection, our workers losing up to an hour of productive time every day, and insurance documentation needing to be checked manually, creating even more slowdowns,” said Adriana Martinez, a Civil Engineer and Site Supervisor at IDEI in a recent The Future of Commerce article.

The AI Tools  

Iron Head Roofing, working with Smart Safety Solutions LLC, turned to AI-powered cameras to act as an extra set of eyes. Before anyone steps off a ladder, the system checks whether each harness line is properly secured. If it spots a problem, it alerts the foreman right away–giving crews a chance to fix it before someone gets hurt and giving the foreman peace of mind that workers on the other side of the jobsite are safe. 

Computer vision technology like Visionify.ai and Viso.ai use cameras and AI models to detect whether workers are wearing the required PPE–hard hats, vests, harnesses–and whether they’re getting too close to an unprotected edge or danger zone. 

Evren AI analyzes live video feeds from cameras already on-site, detecting unsafe conditions like workers too close to heavy equipment or missing PPE. In one pilot, the system reduced recordable safety incidents by 42% and identified over 3,000 potential hazards before they turned into real injuries. 

Systems like viAct’s AI Danger Zone Detection use AI-powered video analytics to recognize when workers enter restricted or high-risk areas like those close to machinery or fall zones–and trigger real-time alerts through site speakers, text notifications, or lights. 

Shawmut Design & Construction uses computer vision software to monitor sites for unsafe behavior or potential hazards, from workers entering restricted zones to equipment moving where it shouldn’t.

This kind of tech is like having a thousand sets of eyes, all focused on one thing: sending everyone home safe every day.

The Bottom Line

From smart cameras that catch a missed harness clip to predictive systems that spot trends before someone gets hurt, construction safety tech is finally catching up to the complexity of the job.

“We don’t treat AI as a substitute for human judgment. It’s a supplement that helps us scale our attention and gain better visibility across complex, fast-moving jobsites,” said Jack Moran, Senior Construction Technology Director for Consigli Construction Co. in a recent Construction Dive article. 

When the goal is getting everyone home at the end of the day, a few more eyes on the job doesn’t hurt. And while no technology can replace a skilled tradesperson’s judgment, it sure can provide the back up they need.