Technology & Public Services: How Advanced Tech Improves Safety for Road Workers

May 15
4 min read

Public works services such as construction sites and road work zones are among those that are transforming operations with the power of advanced technology and artificial intelligence.

Being a part of road work sites puts workers in dangerous situations, due to not only the heavy machinery, but to the risk of potential distracted driver incidents. Implementing technology into these construction zones has the potential to greatly improve coordination as well as enhance safety for those involved.

IT modernization and AI-powered tools have transformed public services, from 311 contact centers and 911 emergency dispatch systems to public utilities and other municipal services. Sedna Consulting Group has delivered such solutions to many different clients within these fields and the public sector as a whole, ensuring work built on data, trust, and responsibility. Reach out to our team to learn more.

In this article, we will explore how advanced tech improves safety for road workers with several use cases seen across the nation.

Technology for Road Worker Safety

Several forms of technology are being utilized to improve safety for road workers, ensuring that they are more protected when conducting their work in a potentially dangerous environment.

Advanced PPE: There are now types of personal protection equipment (PPE) that incorporate GPS technology, proximity sensors and biometric monitors. These can signal hazardous areas or monitor when a worker has been still for an extended period, signalling a potential health incident.

Smart Traffic Cones: Traffic devices, such as traffic cones, are now incorporating smart technology to detect when they have been hit or knocked over, and report the incident to road work personnel. This allows real-time decision-making that enables further traffic detours to ensure worker safety.

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS): ITS focuses on everything that happens in a road work construction site, developing a coordination system that can view cones, sensors, radar, and cameras to monitor worker safety. ITS tracks the speed of oncoming traffic and any outlying driving behavior to alert workers and direct vehicles via navigation applications.

Real Applications of Technology in Road Work Zones

Explore three real-life use cases of technology that helps keep road workers safe as they manage crucial construction work.

Florida

In 2024 alone, Florida had experienced nearly 16,900 work zone crashes with 62 fatalities. These numbers caused the Florida Department of Transportation to implement a new initiative called Safety Work Zone Innovation for Today and Tomorrow – a collaborative effort between private companies, local governments and industry experts in order to develop solutions for improved safety in work zones.

One of the solutions introduced by this initiative is a robotic pavement marking system, which enables crews to stripe roads from inside a truck using geolocation technology; this reduces the need for workers to be exposed to traffic. Florida is also witnessing an expansion of “smart work zones,” which leverage sensor technology and digital message boards to monitor traffic patterns and potential hazards as well as warning drivers of shifting work conditions.

Ohio

At the University of Dayton in Ohio, Hui “Jack” Wang, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, is working with his team to develop a system of advanced sensors to detect any hazards that could injure road workers. The Integrated Acoustic and Vision Sensing System for Worker Safety Early Warning aims to increase awareness of road workers, reminding them of potential hazardous surroundings in their environment. These utilize thermal cameras in addition to visible-light cameras in case of poor visibility in foggy and rainy weather.

These alerts utilize sounds or vibrations for the various types of technology on their person, such as earbuds, phones, or smart watches. This improves the awareness of road workers in order to improve their safety and decrease injuries on the job.

Maryland

In Maryland last year, 9 highway workers had lost their lives on the job, while 449 were injured. The state began a partnership between Morgan State University, the city of Baltimore and the Maryland Department of Transportation in order to implement solutions to improve the safety of those conducting construction jobs on highways and streets.

Technology developed by the Safety and Mobility Advancements Regional Transportation and Economics Research (SMARTER) Center at Morgan State University is being tested to improve safety for road workers on Maryland highways and streets. It is a work zone warning system that uses light detection, sensors, edge computing, and a predictive algorithm to alert workers of incoming traffic and other hazards in or around the job site. The alerts are delivered to workers through flashing beacons, vibrations on wearable devices, and siren sounds. By enabling these wearable devices with advanced technology, the state can improve road worker awareness and increase safety in these work zones.

Advancements in technology and collaborative efforts are leading to enhanced safety measures for road workers, allowing them to conduct their work with confidence and security. These developments serve as an excellent display of how technology improves the lives of many, especially within public works services and other public sector operations.

Interested in learning more about technology for the public sector? Reach out to our team at info@sednacg.com.

“We’re changing the world with technology.”

– Bill Gates, Co-Founder of Microsoft