Hong Kong labour authorities are stepping up enforcement of a smoking ban at construction sites by testing drone technology designed to detect illegal smoking. Since the ban takes effect on July 17, officials say they have inspected nearly 1,400 construction sites. Authorities have issued 39 fixed-penalty notices and 11 improvement notices to contractors for violations. According to the Labour Department, assistant commissioner Wan Chi-ping says testing is underway on an infrared thermal-imaging drone that can identify heat sources associated with smoking. The authorities are also considering adding artificial intelligence to help distinguish smoking activity, and exploring the use of AI-enabled facial recognition on drones to better identify offenders. The Labour Department says it is reviewing how drone-based monitoring could improve compliance and enforcement, while ongoing inspections and penalties continue under the existing ban rules. The current testing aims to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of using drone surveillance for detecting violations at construction sites.
Hong Kong tests drones to enforce construction site smoking ban
Hong Kong labour authorities are stepping up enforcement of a smoking ban at construction sites by testing drone technology designed to detect illegal smoking. Since the ban takes effect on July 17, o...
- Hong Kong’s construction site smoking ban starts on July 17.
- Labour authorities have inspected nearly 1,400 construction sites since the ban took effect.
- Officials have issued 39 fixed-penalty notices and 11 improvement notices for violations.
- Authorities are testing an infrared/thermal-imaging drone to detect heat sources linked to smoking.
- The Labour Department is considering adding AI to identify smoking and is looking into facial recognition-enabled drones.
Hong Kong labour authorities have begun testing an infrared thermal-imaging drone to detect heat sources and illegal smoking at construction sites, with plans to add artificial intelligence (AI) to identify smoking workers. Since the total site smoking ban took effect on July 17, about 1,400 construction sites have been inspected as of Tuesday, according to Wan Chi-ping, assistant commissioner for labour. Authorities issued 39 fixed-penalty notices and 11 improvement notices to contractors,...
3 hours agoAuthorities have issued 39 fines since a smoking ban at construction sites came into effect last month, with the Labour Department saying it is looking into equipping drones with facial recognition tools to better enforce the new law. Wan Chi-ping, the Labour Department’s assistant commissioner of occupational safety, said authorities have inspected nearly 1,400 construction […]
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