根據職災統計資料，墜落與滾落是死亡率極高的職業災害，也是營建職災主要的項目。傳統上由監工檢查勞工是否攜帶並正常使用安全設備，此方法雖然方便,但是人為檢查有許多地方無法周全，造成勞工墜落死亡意外居高不下。本研究希望設計一套可在勞工作業場應用的勞工自動檢查機制(簡稱虛擬檢查員)，主動且持續的監測勞工安全設備的使用設備狀態，以減少人為檢查的負擔,避免人為疏失而造成意外的發生。 本研究以NORDIC nRF24E1做為無線通訊控制晶片，在2.4GMHz的通訊頻段內透過自行設計的分時多工的通訊協定，建立具有通訊定位及漫遊功能的無線通訊感測系統(簡稱SACS)。透過通訊內容檢查機制，SACS可以確認進入該工作區域之勞工是否攜帶足夠的個人防護設備，並記錄勞工進出該區域之時間。此外運用微動開關所製成之掛?動作偵測模組，可以偵測作業人員在工作區面時是否正確的使用掛?。特殊設計的安全帽則可以在勞工進入非指定作業區域時，以振動方式提醒勞工注意。將SACS應用於高架作業之工作環境時，可以成為一套具有防護感測能力及主動警訊之高架作業安全預警系統。 本研發針對SACS進行的性能測試結果顯示，SACS可在 10秒內和220個防護模組進行至少一次之通訊。且單一模組架設範圍可在約直徑半徑5公尺~60公尺左右的環境進行架設。系統進行了高於5000次的的定位辨識以及警訊提醒等功能測試，正確率均達100%，而在耗電量測試的結果顯示，本SACS在一般收發及運作時平均耗電量為3.26±0.01mA，警訊通訊時耗電量為34.2±4.5mA，休眠狀態可降至0.1mA以下，以2100 mA可充電之NI-MH電池，理論上在10%的通訊密度下預計正常可使用187天，而於警訊持續發步時理論也可使用22天，故可說明本系統對於區域及高架作業上之設備使用，能確實達到提醒之功用，有效的降低人為疏失的發生率、工安意外的風險，減少不必要意外的發生。 Fail to use fall arrest equipments is the major cause of death when worker falls. Current equipments used in industry have no sensors to detect if the worker properly carries and uses equipments in desired working area or not. The purpose of this study is to develop an active solution that will continuously monitor the status and locations of fall arrest devices when persons working at height. Based on wireless sensing technology, the smart fall arrest system has five major components: the smart hook sensor which can differentiate that the snap-hook is tie-off to an external rope or is connected to worker’s body-belt; the wireless transceiver which not only transmit status data to a local receiver, but also listens to zone broadcasting messages and triggers an vibration alarm to the work if he/she fail to use the hook in desired zone; the zone broadcaster which continuously sends zone messages, zone ID and operation mode messages, to the air; the wireless area data receiver which collects data from different sensors and relays them to the control server through wired or wireless networks, the control server which keeps tracking workers’ locations and sensors’ status and sends messages to the manager when workers fail to use the equipment. Laboratory tests showed that the sensor consumed only 34.2±4.5mA current and can be operated for more than 187 days before recharging two 2100mA nickel metal hydride batteries. In a field test, we were able to create sensing zones range from 5m to 60m in diameter. More than 220 sensing units can communicate to a signal receiver in ten seconds and virtually unlimited receivers can be installed in the sensing network. This made possible of creating a huge virtual-inspector-network system.
