StreetsLA is using online technology to speed up the inspection process on street projects. (photo by Edwin Folven)

StreetsLA, formerly the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services, is piloting a new technology tool called HeadLight for street inspections that can eliminate person-to-person contact at work sites and ensures that city construction projects can move forward without delay while keeping workers safe.

StreetsLA has established a team of 10 COVID-19 safety ambassadors to ensure proper public health protocols are being followed by the bureau’s construction field crews. Using HeadLight during daily safety compliance inspections, digital forms were completed, photos attached and data transmitted to the managers for their review and approval in near real time.

With the accumulated data, StreetsLA is able to run preliminary analytics to identify trends that can be used to inform future inspections and further mitigation measures, in response to the pandemic.

StreetsLA will initially use the new technology on projects including the Crenshaw Boulevard/LAX Transit Project and an Access Improvement Project in Downtown L.A. The HeadLight technology is software that runs on a tablet that modernizes the street construction inspection process by capturing photo-based data and important field information at street construction sites in real time. It replaces the old tradition of hand-written notes. The photo-based inspection software was developed by HeadLight Technologies Inc.

“StreetsLA is continually looking for new ideas to work smarter and this new HeadLight technology provides more impact at less cost,” said Adel Hagekhalil, executive director and general manager of StreetsLA. “The HeadLight tool will keep StreetsLA projects moving forward without delays while, most importantly, keeping workers and field personnel safe.”

The HeadLight inspection tool has been used on thousands of road construction projects across the country and is a valuable resource for city and state departments of transportation, engineering firms and contractors. 

“HeadLight increases the accountability and effectiveness of construction projects by allowing teams to remotely capture, interpret and act on job site issues,” said Si Katara, president and co-founder of HeadLight. “In these COVID times, HeadLight can boost efficiency for StreetsLA field staff, minimize person-to-person interactions on job sites and directly help ensure that StreetsLA projects are meeting COVID-19 safety guidelines. This is critical to ensuring worker safety while simultaneously keeping projects moving forward.”

The test of the HeadLight system is among ways that StreetsLA is working to reduce paper use and further digitize processes. For information, visit streetsla.lacity.org.