New technology is cutting workers’ compensation claims and fraud across industries. But in construction, the results are on camera.
Working with Arrowsight, a safety technology company specializing in video-based behavioral modification and coaching analytics, specialty cameras are installed around job sites. These cameras capture workers if they disregard safety rules, such as scrambling under a load of lumber suspended from a crane or failing to tie into safety harnesses while balanced high above the ground.
The videos are flagged by a dedicated team, and safety supervisors are promptly informed. Workers then receive feedback and proper training to improve safety compliance.
In New York, where both the cost of workers’ compensation insurance and the frequency and severity of claims are among the highest in the nation, the safety improvements from camera surveillance are so significant that insurer Zurich North America announced on Friday it will only insure construction wrap-up projects that have installed video analytics and coaching from Arrowsight.
A $2 billion, three-year pilot program on nine large-scale New York City construction job sites demonstrated a more than 70% reduction in workers’ compensation claims, along with a near elimination of racketeering charges in NYC when video analytics and coaching from Arrowsight were implemented, according to the insurer.
“The dramatic results underscore the power of combining human insight with technology to drive measurable change,” Tobias Cushing, Zurich’s head of construction, told CNBC. “We saw a virtual elimination of serious injuries and deaths on projects with Arrowsight.”
Arrowsight uses fixed-point cameras that are moveable, battery-powered, and cell-enabled, allowing them to operate without electricity or internet connection.
“We have a whole program where we’re using civil engineers overnight to analyze all these high-risk work activities and then provide feedback — coaching clips just like you would see on Sports Center — to help supervisors coach workers to avoid taking these kinds of risks,” said Adam Aronson, founder and CEO of Arrowsight.
The technology has increased worker safety compliance rates from around 70% before implementation to between 97% and 100% in many cases, based on pilot program data.
Before turning its focus to construction, Arrowsight’s technology was already in use in a range of other industries, including health-care facilities and meatpacking plants. Adam Aronson identified construction as an industry that could greatly benefit from video-based tech.
Posillico Civil was the first civil construction company in the U.S. to partner with Arrowsight. Over a four-year pilot study, the company’s Experience Modification Rate (EMR) — a key claims-incident rating that factors into workers’ compensation premiums — dropped from 0.65 to 0.25. EMR represents a relative safety score, with scores less than one being favorable.
Additionally, Arrowsight signed a master service agreement with Chubb this summer, focusing primarily on construction safety.
With technology like Arrowsight’s leading the way, the construction industry is making significant strides toward safer job sites and lower insurance claims through innovative video analytics and proactive coaching.
https://bitcoinethereumnews.com/finance/workers-comp-claims-plummet-after-zurich-na-arrowsight-pilot-program/
