Wireless safety monitoring of a water pipeline construction site using LoRa communication

Despite efforts to reduce unexpected accidents at confined construction sites, choking accidents continue to occur. Because of the poorly ventilated atmosphere, particularly in long, confined underground spaces, workers are subject to dangerous working conditions despite the use of artificial ventilation. Moreover, the traditional monitoring methods of using portable gas detectors place safety inspectors in direct contact with hazardous conditions. In this study, a long-range (LoRa)based wireless safety monitoring system that features the network organization, fault-tolerant, power management, and a graphical user interface (GUI) was developed for underground construction sites. The LoRa wireless data communication system was adopted to detect hazardous gases and oxygen deficiency within a confined underground space with adjustable communication range and low power consumption. Fault tolerance based on the mapping information of the entire wireless sensor network was particularly implemented to ensure the reliable operation of the monitoring system. Moreover, a sleep mode was implemented for the efficient power management. The GUI was also developed to control the entire safety-monitoring system and to manage the measured data. The developed safety-monitoring system was validated in an indoor testing and at two full-scale water pipeline construction sites.