Facial Recognition and Psychological State Analysis for Workers
Expanded Implementation Following Testbed at Busan Port
Busan Port Authority (BPA, President Kang Junseok) has piloted a system at construction sites that analyzes the psychological state of workers to prevent safety accidents.
The authority signed a business agreement in December last year with the company that originally developed the system to introduce a safety management system for the prevention of serious accidents, and after testing it at Busan Port construction sites, plans to expand its application in the future.
This system uses a tablet or mobile phone to recognize a worker's face for five seconds, analyzes their psychological state (such as stress and tension), and displays the results numerically.
Through this, workers found to be in an unstable psychological state can receive counseling, be closely monitored, or be reassigned at the site, thereby reducing the incidence of safety accidents caused by unstable mental conditions.
The unstable psychological state of construction workers, influenced by hormones, can directly affect physical activity and lead to safety accidents, so management is necessary.
Considering factors such as construction progress and work risk, Busan Port Authority first introduced the system in December last year at two pilot sites: the "Busan New Port Feeder Terminal (West Container North)" construction site and the "Busan New Port North Container Phase 2 Port Hinterland Development Project." After collecting and analyzing individual data at these sites, the psychological state of workers has been continuously monitored since January this year.
Monitoring of about 70 workers at the sites revealed unstable psychological states in some individuals, and by providing in-depth psychological counseling, not a single safety accident has occurred so far, resulting in positive outcomes.
BPA plans to address shortcomings identified during the pilot operation and apply improvements to the upgraded system. In addition, the authority is considering linking the system with smart health devices to analyze and manage the physical health of construction workers as well.
Lee Sangkwon, Head of Construction Headquarters at BPA, said, "After piloting this system for the past six months, we have seen positive effects in preventing safety accidents," and added, "We will do our best to create accident-free and safe construction sites by applying safety management systems in various ways."
Busan Port Authority has introduced and is operating a safety management system for construction sites.
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