Development of a Mobile App for Reporting Work Zone Intrusions

Abstract

Work zone intrusions represent a significant safety risk to workers. To help better understand these situations, the Minnesota Department of Transportation partnered with the University of Minnesota to create a method to document intrusion events. This information provides a deeper understanding of the circumstances under which these events occur and enables data-driven decision making when considering ways to reduce or mitigate work zone intrusions. This work focuses on the development of a mobile smartphone app that allows workers to report intrusions from the field immediately after they occur, allowing for timely and accurate intrusion reporting. The work zone intrusion mobile app is developed using an iterative, user-centered design process that solicits feedback from work zone personnel, supervisors, and work zone safety stakeholders at every step in the process. The app uploads completed report data to the existing eSAFE system, allowing for a single repository of collected intrusion report data. To support deployment of the system, training workshops and supporting training and communications materials are created for distribution among users. Throughout the development and deployment of the app, user feedback shows that the app is easy to use and well liked.