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The European Builders Confederation (EBC) is taking important steps forward in the digital transformation of the construction industry through its involvement in two Horizon Europe projects: HumanTech and BEEYONDERS. These initiatives exemplify EBC’s commitment to enhancing safety and health within the sector while advancing the objectives of the Healthy Workplaces Campaign (HWC) 2023-25 'Safe and healthy work in the digital age', where the organisation stands as an official campaign partner.

As part of the HumanTech project, running until 2025, EBC has been supporting the adoption of human-centric technologies like (AI) AI refers to systems that display intelligent behaviour by analysing their environment and taking actions – with some degree of autonomy – to achieve specific goals. AI-based systems can be purely software-based, acting in the virtual world (e.g. voice assistants, image analysis software, search engines, speech and face recognition systems) or AI can be embedded in hardware devices (e.g. advanced robots, autonomous cars, drones or Internet of things applications). ( AI refers to systems that display intelligent behaviour by analysing their environment and taking actions – with some degree of autonomy – to achieve specific goals. AI-based systems can be purely software-based, acting in the virtual world (e.g. voice assistants, image analysis software, search engines, speech and face recognition systems) or AI can be embedded in hardware devices (e.g. advanced robots, autonomous cars, drones or Internet of things applications). ), robotics, and augmented reality within construction. By promoting these innovations, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), EBC is ensuring that digital tools are used to create safer, smarter, and more sustainable working environments. This aligns with the HWC’s vision of harnessing digitalisation to enhance occupational safety and health (OSH).

The BEEYONDERS project, which concludes in 2026, is equally future-orientated, focusing on improving safety, efficiency, and environmental sustainability at construction sites. By utilising cutting-edge technologies such as autonomous vehicles, smart Wearables are electronic devices with sensors and computational capacity (e.g. smart watches, data glasses, or other devices with embedded sensors or tags), which can be placed on different body parts to gather data to be fed into other digital systems for processing purposes. They can be used to analyse physiological and psychological data such as feelings, sleep, movements, heart rate, body temperature and blood pressure, via applications either installed on the device itself or on external devices, such as smartphones connected to the cloud. , and digital twins, the project addresses the complex challenges of modern construction.

As the construction industry rapidly embraces digitalisation, prioritising the protection of workers from emerging risks is more critical than ever. EBC’s participation in these initiatives aligns seamlessly with the campaign's mission and is poised to significantly improve worker wellbeing during this period of transition.