4 Ways Video Monitoring Boosts Safety and Efficiency on Construction Sites

As the cost of video monitoring goes down and the quality improves, video monitoring will likely become ubiquitous on construction sites, thus improving safety and efficiency.

By: Emily Spennato | July 29, 2020

Have you ever gotten tongue-tied when someone says, “Say something, you’re on camera!”

Why do people sometimes set up fake cameras to deter mischief? Would a thief rob a bank if they knew they were being recorded?

It’s all the same concept; people act differently when they know they’re being filmed.

The digital age we live in has the power to capture some of our best moments and save them forever, but it also has the potential to capture our worst.

There are seldom industries as collaborative or risk-prone as construction, which is why video monitoring to promote best practices is gaining traction.

The accessibility to cheaper, higher-quality technology is a major reason for this, according to Adrien Robinson, head of construction, Inland Marine & Complex Casualty, The Hartford.

“Cameras are not new but some of the basics of these technologies have vastly improved over the last few years,” said Robinson. “The cost of cameras have decreased rapidly and the quality of the video has improved dramatically … you also have Cloud storage capabilities and artificial intelligence.”

Adrien Robinson, head of construction, Inland Marine & Complex Casualty, The Hartford

While cost is certainly a factor in management’s decision to forgo video monitoring, the presence of a camera can also relay a message of distrust to employees. However, technology and effective communication between management and employees are highlighting just how effective video monitoring can be in improving efficiency of a job site.

“I think they’re going to be pretty ubiquitous on any job site of reasonable size,” said Robinson.

Here are 4 reasons job site managers are saying ‘Yes’ to cameras, according to construction experts.

1. Promotes Safety

With so many responsibilities on a job site, employees sometimes forget that their own safety is the main priority. With video cameras that can capture work injuries or near misses, it’s easy to go back and show employees what not to do. In addition, if workers know there is a possibility they are being watched, they are more inclined to use best practices.

“They’re not so much using it in real time as opposed to looking backward at a project and observing operational processes and worker behavior, all with the goal of trying to make things on site as safe as possible,” said Thomas Grandmaison, chief broking officer of Aon’s Construction Services Group.

“If you’re able to correct things before they become a habit, perhaps there’s an opportunity to influence claim outcomes.”

When you work on a construction site every day, it’s easy to become used to all of the safety hazards that come with it and, over time, begin to proceed with less caution.

“It’s one thing to say, ‘One of our colleagues had a near miss”. It’s another thing to show people what that near miss looked like and it’s a much more impactful view for the worker when they see how consequential that miss could have been,” added Robinson.

2. Promotes Productivity

For construction site managers, it’s hard to be in every place at once, and therefore it’s hard to run a job with complete efficiency. In the hustle and bustle of the day, it’s sometimes difficult to see where things are overlooked from the perspective of an employee.

Thomas Grandmaison, chief broking officer, Construction Services Group, Aon

Being able to refer to video can help determine where resources should be allocated, and where less assistance is need.

“Construction sites are complex environments,” said Robinson.

“As a foreman, you can’t be everywhere at all times. Think about having the ability to monitor multiple areas of the site at one time, and then they may see something and address that right away, whether it’s a construction, quality, or safety issue. It’s just another mechanism to have another set of eyes around the site and identify some of these ideally pre-losses, and correct them before you have a loss or get a violation.”

3. Lessens the Burden for Subcontractors

Aside from being accountable for their own safety, video documentation can hold workers accountable in an industry as collaborative as construction.

“To me, I think it’s best practices. It’s helping you to substantiate that your work was done correctly,” said David Brockmann, area senior vice president, Gallagher.

“Construction defect claims can be represented and defended in a completely different light if the construction is monitored and documented by video and photographs. If it’s monitored you can show that they did their job right, that it was installed the correct way, and if they’re ever brought into a construction defect claim, they can go back and say, ‘Here’s the video that shows we did our job correctly.’ ”

Having evidence of who did what part of the job can also lessen the burden for subcontractors, and eliminate any need to point fingers.

“The general notion is transparency amongst these parties, regarding how much work was being done, how much time and materials did it take,” said Robinson. “There’s a bunch of these scenarios where just having this evidence can really help the parties agree about what happened.”

4. Assists in the Claims Process

On top of documenting the distribution of the work, video monitoring can also expedite the claims process. In a situation where a job site employed multiple subcontractors, the event of a claim could turn into a game of he-said-she-said.

“It’s pretty difficult to say what happened unless it’s caught on video. A claims adjuster could say, ‘Not only did my client not have anything to do with it, we have the video monitoring to show that my client wasn’t even in the area when the claim occurred,’” said Brockmann.

David Brockmann, area senior vice president, Gallagher

“A lot of subcontractors are brought into these large claims when one subcontractor does something wrong on the job site, a lot of different subcontractors can be brought in just because of the nature of the contract. If a subcontractor is monitoring their own work and shows they’ve had nothing to do with that side of the construction site where they weren’t even on the construction site, and we have that video to prove it, that goes a long way to helping absolve them from any liability claim.”

Video monitoring is also helpful in resolving injury claims, which otherwise would be the employee’s or witnesses’ word against a claims adjuster.

“A picture could be worth a thousand words but video evidence is worth more than a thousand words, given the rich data information that it provides. You may be able to see the extent a worker was or was not injured in certain situations,” said Robinson.

“Sometimes, having this rich-data information can really expedite that process and it puts all of the cards on the table in certain circumstances and just allows for the dispute to happen faster,” said Robinson.

Communication Is Key

So with all of these assets stemming from video monitoring, why don’t all sites have them? Well, according to the experts, that’s the direction the industry is headed in.

According to Brockmann, when implementing this type of technology, communication with employees is key.

“We’re all monitored when we’re pumping our gas, when we’re at the grocery store, when we’re at the bank, I think that maybe 15 years ago this would have been a tougher sell to an employee than it is now… if you’re upfront and you communicate with an employee, it shouldn’t be a problem,” said Brockmann.

“I think what contractors are really trying to do when they’re considering technology like cameras is; will it have an impact on the outcome of the project? Will it make it safer? More efficient? Will it improve the quality? Those questions are being asked around the cost of it,” added Grandmaison. &

Emily Spennato is a former staff writer with Risk & Insurance.

Why Insureds Might See an Uptick in M&PL Claims

George Schalick, Jr., Senior Vice President of the Management and Professional Liability Division, Philadelphia Insurance Companies

The current soft market might come as a bit of a surprise as it does not track with previous underwriting cycles and economic conditions. Afterall, many privately held and non-profit organizations struggled during the early days of the pandemic with shutdowns and rapidly declining revenues. But the Government assistance programs, like the Paycheck Protection Program loans, helped keep many afloat during the tough times.

“During COVID many organizations stopped doing business until they were able to sort out all of the health and safety challenges,” Schalick said. “They were forced to lock down, but then all the government assistance programs allowed them to keep people employed. The increased volume of claims we anticipated we would see coming from the lockdowns and restrictions that were imposed upon businesses in the U.S. didn’t manifest at first.”

“Just because there wasn’t an onslaught of reported claims at the beginning of the pandemic, doesn’t mean the circumstances that would give rise to a claim being reported didn’t occur. Courts and the judicial system were closed or slowed and now that they are back open, we’re starting to see the circumstances that occurred during the COVID lockdowns becoming claims today,” Schalick said. “Litigation is progressing.”

Added to the delayed pandemic litigation is a concern over newer claims that might be filed as the country inches toward an economic downturn. Though a recession was avoided in 2023, experts think a soft dip could occur in 2024, with 76% of economists saying there’s a 50% or less chance of an economic downturn this year — that almost always results in more management liability claims.

“During the Great Recession in 2008, we saw an almost immediate spike in claims because of the economic conditions and the pressure it placed on organizations. They were making personnel changes with significant belt tightening almost immediately.” Schalick said.

What’s in Store for M&PL Policy Rates in 2024?

Despite an uptick in claims and increased economic uncertainty, management liability rates haven’t increased, resulting in market-wide pricing levels that may not meet the increased pressure of rising settlements and jury verdicts.

“Rates are going the other direction and settlement values are not falling,” Schalick said.

The mismatch between rates, claim frequency and severity is, in part, because carriers experiencing the dramatic soft market in the public D&O market are seeking premium gain in the private and non-profit market.

“In the public company market, the rates have been decreasing significantly. The rates were increasing in the private, not-for-profit market, and rightfully so, but there’s a desire to supplement overall mid-size D&O for carriers who also write private not-for-profit, and they see that as an opportunity to aggregate premium,” Schalick said. “So the always competitive landscape in the private, not-for-profit market has dramatically increased in the last 18 to 24 months.”

Still, companies of all sizes and types should be concerned about management liability rates in the future. Legal system abuse is resulting in increases in both the amount of litigation and the size of verdicts plaintiffs are receiving.

Certain areas of the country are particularly vulnerable to this type of legal system abuse. As a result, insureds in these localities are likely to be vulnerable to rate increases.

“The environment is so positive for the plaintiff that forces premium increases so carriers are able to stay in that market long term,” Schalick said.

Why a Tenured Carrier Partner Can Help Insureds Navigate An Uncertain Market

It’s clear that insureds are facing an uncertain M&PL market over the next few years. Fortunately, carriers with a long history in the M&PL space will be there to offer stability.

Philadelphia Insurance Companies has been supporting this market for 35 years. PHLY is committed to offering long-term rate stability, even as economic and claims trends start to push premiums upwards. They have an appetite for all sorts of companies, large and small, for-profit and nonprofit alike.

“We’ve been at this game for a long time and are one of the most tenured underwriters in this space,” Schalick said. “We like to stay very consistent.”

PHLY has worked with both for-profit and non-profit on management liability policies. With dedicated M&PL teams throughout the company’s 13 regions, PHLY provides the support agents and brokers are looking for on behalf of their clients. The teams know their regions well and can respond to local trends. They’re also dedicated to making the renewal process as easy as possible for their partners and policyholders.

“We have real confidence in our results, so we focus a lot on making the renewal experience as painless as possible for all agents and insureds,” Schalick said.

The company is also investing in tools to help insureds avoid losses. Earlier this year, they launched a new online risk management platform, PHLYGateway, which offers resources for insureds on how to create an employee handbook and trainings on issues such as recognizing workplace sexual harassment and discrimination.

If insureds have questions, they can consult a Best Practices Help Line, provided via the platform. That way, they can get on the spot risk management guidance to help them prevent claims.

To learn more, visit: https://www.phly.com/mplDivision/managementLiability/default.aspx.

This article was produced by the R&I Brand Studio, a unit of the advertising department of Risk & Insurance, in collaboration with Philadelphia Insurance Companies. The editorial staff of Risk & Insurance had no role in its preparation.