Chukwuma Nnaji

Texas A&M University | TAMU · Department of Construction Science

The construction industry is currently experiencing high turnover rates and a shortage of skilled labor, which presents significant challenges to workforce sustainability. This study examines the relationship between key workforce sustainability attributes—diversity, health and wellbeing (H&W), equity, community, and connectivity—and their impact o...

Traditional construction safety monitoring, primarily based on manual observation, is increasingly challenging due to site complexity, human error, and the time-consuming nature of inspections. Wearable Internet of Things (WIoT) devices offer potential solutions by enabling real-time monitoring of workers’ health, environment, and location, enhanci...

The construction industry has witnessed a significant increase in the use of modular construction, given its ability to save time and reduce project costs. However, while modular construction is relatively safer than traditional construction methods, workers are still exposed to hazards that lead to injuries and fatalities. Few studies have focused...

This study examines the impact of risk models and investors’ risk aversion on the selection of community solar portfolios. Various risk models to account for the volatility in the electrical power output of community solar, namely variance (Var), SemiVariance (SemiVar), mean absolute deviation (MAD), and conditional value at risk (CVaR), were consi...

Minimal research has been conducted to develop non-invasive processes for quantifying and evaluating worker mental workload - a critical concern - at the task level in the construction industry. One reason for this gap in research is the complex and dynamic nature of the construction process, which makes construction work more complicated to measur...

Falls from roof (FFR) is a primary concern for most construction operators given the risk associated with such accidents in the US. FFR accounted for about 30% of total fall cases from 2000 to 2020. Therefore, it is paramount to propose and develop systems to help reduce the occurrence of FFR accidents. The main objectives of this study are to (1)...

Fatigue is a common problem in the construction industry due to the labor-intensive, repetitive, and physically demanding nature of the activities. Most construction projects are carried out in the summer, when the temperature typically ranges from 90 o F to 110 o F, exposing workers to the danger of heightened fatigue and heat exhaustion. Although...

Construction is a hazardous industry due to the dynamic nature of the work environment. However, limited studies have investigated how the introduction of additional hazards affects construction fieldworkers' perception of safety risks. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influence of varying levels of hazard information on fieldworkers'...

The reliance on networked technologies in construction safety and health management is expected to increase; however, studies have reported potential resistance to the broad implementation of smart technologies within structured construction safety management systems (SMS). This study examines the challenges and drivers impacting the implementation...

Heat-related illness is a growing concern for workers in temperate climates as rising temperatures and heatwaves put them at risk of exertional heat stroke. Monitoring biometrics that predict heat stroke, such as core temperature, is increasingly important. To monitor biometrics, wearable sensing technologies have been proposed as an alternative to...

Falls at construction sites account for approximately 50% of all accidents reported in the US annually, making them the leading cause of injuries and fatalities. Although there have been several studies characterizing fall-related hazards and emerging technologies, a systematic review of literature examining the intersection of fall from height (FF...

Construction is a physically demanding occupation that requires workers to exert themselves when executing tasks. Many construction tasks involve manual handling, making fatigue part of construction workers’ everyday experience. Physical fatigue has been shown to impact worker safety as it affects workers’ cognitive ability to process hazard inform...

Due to the dynamic and recurring nature of the construction operations, employee turnover rates remain relatively high. This high employee turnover rate presents challenges to the industry, the economy, and the entire society at whole. As well, this high turnover rate leads to significant shortage of skilled laborers given the reduced interests of...

Purpose Construction companies are increasingly adopting sensing technologies like laser scanners, making it necessary to upskill the future workforce in this area. However, limited jobsite access hinders experiential learning of laser scanning, necessitating the need for an alternative learning environment. Previously, the authors explored mixed r...

Trombe wall (TW) is a passive method utilized in designing buildings to achieve building sustainability through building energy consumption reduction. The present study investigates the effectiveness of TW as a method for improving thermal comfort and building energy savings in Shiraz, Iran, with a cold semi-arid climate, by using DesignBuilder the...

Construction practitioners have started exploring the use of exoskeletons within operations to combat the high rate of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, declining productivity, and worker attrition. In attempting to adopt exoskeletons, the ensuing human-robot interaction (HRI) can lead to the emergence of novel safety risks or the increment o...

The use of robotics and automation (RA) within construction operations to combat stagnant productivity, high rates of injuries and fatalities, and a declining workforce is increasing. However, utilizing RA for construction operations creates human-robot interactions (HRIs) that can lead to the emergence of novel hazards or exacerbate existing safet...

Technology use in the construction industry fosters improvements in schedule, safety, cost, productivity, and quality. In this domain, the construction technologies adoption highly depends on stakeholders, who may exhibit some resistance to operational use. This underscores the importance of determining technology integration success using effectiv...

Inadequate transportation infrastructure is a significant obstacle to any economy's growth and development potential. A primary challenge to sustainable delivery is finance. Concerns about the efficacy of innovative mechanisms for financing infrastructure investments, primarily through public-private partnerships (PPP) abound in the literature and...

In the US, hundreds of people lose their lives each year, and many more are injured, in street and highway maintenance and construction work zones. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandates the use of temporary traffic control to address overall safety performance in roadway construction and maintenance projects. However, st...

Introduction: The concept of addressing and minimizing construction site safety risks in the early phase of a project has generated research interest, especially since the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) launched its national Prevention through Design (PtD) initiative in July 2007. In the last decade, several studies...

Due to the dynamic and complex nature of construction sites, the conventional method of construction safety monitoring which relies mainly on manual observation by inspectors is highly susceptible to human errors, is time-consuming, and is also becoming increasingly difficult to identify all incidents. Wearable Internet of Things (WIoT) in the cons...

The construction industry is demanding, dynamic, and complex making it difficult for workers to recognize hazards. The nature of construction tasks exposes workers to several critical risk factors, such as a high rate of exertion and fatigue. Recent studies suggest that fatigue may impact hazard recognition in the construction industry. However, mo...

Construction safety education will continue to attract the interests of construction educators, researchers, and industry professionals due to its immense influence on accident reduction and prevention. A well-educated workforce with a thorough understanding of safety requirements and procedures is needed to develop and apply effective safety and h...

Modular building is a fast-growing construction method, mainly due to its ability to drastically reduce the amount of time it takes to construct a building and produce higher-quality buildings at a more consistent rate. However, while modular construction is relatively safer than traditional construction methods, workers are still exposed to hazard...

Purpose The usefulness of technology for managing projects in the construction industry is indisputable. The potential utility of immersive technologies (ImTs), including virtual and augmented reality, has recently received significant attention. However, the construction industry, especially in developing countries, lags on the implementation of t...

This paper reviews the trend of research studies on risk management in public-private partnerships (PPP). Bibliometric data of 1730 publications were retrieved from Scopus using selected keywords between 1989 and 2019. The VOS viewer software was then used to conduct a scientometric analysis of the normative literature. The review outcomes show tha...

The purposes of this paper are to identify risk factors impacting the successful implementation of immersive reality technology (ImT) in the construction industry, analyze these risk factors (impact and probability), assess the relationships among different categories of risk factors, and provide recommendations to improve ImT implementation. A lit...

Construction workers are often faced with several safety and health risks due to their constant exposure to extreme weather elements and hazardous materials in form of chemicals, gases, particulate matter (PM), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Continuous automated sensing of these inclement environmental conditions and hazardous materials for...

In construction, the high amount of work musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) continues to be a major source of concern for practitioners and researchers. In response to this concern, construction stakeholders have increasingly utilized advanced simulation technics to investigate musculoskeletal risks that contribute to WMSDs and inform ergonomic chang...

The COVID-19 outbreak has significantly impacted the construction industry. The pandemic can exacerbate an already dire safety and health situation in the industry and negatively impact construction employees and employers. The present study investigates the safety and health measures implemented by construction firms in the United States (US), the...

High rate of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) remains a major concern of practitioners and researchers in the construction industry. Among current developments in automation and robotics, wearable robots (exoskeletons) have gained some traction as a viable tool that could improve construction workers’ safety, health, and productivity...

Construction operations are hazardous, leading to thousands of accidents, injuries, and fatalities annually. Safety risk assessment (SRA) is a key component necessary to respond to hazards effectively. Individuals have different perceptions of the riskiness of construction hazards, and studies have shown that different sociodemographic factors amon...

Researchers believe that improving technology adoption and application in the construction industry, especially for occupational safety and health (OSH) management, would improve workplace conditions, and lead to improved performance outcomes and fewer injuries. This article explores ways to utilize emerging technology for OSH management in the co...

Low back disorder continues to be prevalent amongst construction workers, especially the rebar workers who are often engaged in repetitive stooping postures. Wearable robots, exoskeletons, are recent ergonomic interventions currently explored in the construction industry that have potentials of reducing the risks of low back pain by augmenting user...

The present study investigates the success factors (SFs) for implementing wearable sensing devices (WSDs) for safety and health monitoring within the construction industry. A questionnaire survey was designed and administered to stakeholders in the Architectural, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry in the United States. A total of 416 vali...

Purpose The physically-demanding and repetitive nature of construction work often exposes workers to work-related musculoskeletal injuries. Real-time information about the ergonomic consequences of workers' postures can enhance their ability to control or self-manage their exposures. This study proposes a digital twin framework to improve self-mana...

Purpose Construction action recognition is essential to efficiently manage productivity, health and safety risks. These can be achieved by tracking and monitoring construction work. This study aims to examine the performance of a variant of deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for recognizing actions of construction workers from images of sign...

Purpose This study aims to examine relationships between several key technology acceptance variables that predict workers’ wearable sensing devices (WSDs) acceptance in the construction industry by using technology acceptance model, theory of planned behavior and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model. The study proposes a...

This article discusses the concept of sustainability in construction and presents a comprehensive and inclusive framework that addresses not only the environmental and economic aspects of sustainability, but also the concept of social equity in sustainable construction.

The adoption and utilization of technology for quality management (QM) processes and procedures is an efficient and effective tool to improve project performance, service life, and cost. Studies using existing and emerging technologies for QM in highway construction have found better results compared with those using conventional or traditional pro...

Wearable sensing devices (WSDs) are increasingly helping workers stay safe and healthy in several industries. However, workers, especially in the construction industry, have shown some aversion towards the use of WSDs due to their ability to capture specific information that may be considered personal and private. However, this revered information...

Due to the hazardous nature of the construction environment, the rate of fatalities in the construction industry has continued to increase and has been a source of concern for stakeholders. Most of the existing data collection and analysis approaches have not yielded the desired results because they are largely manual in nature and are prone to err...

Construction workers fail to recognize a large number of safety hazards. These unrecognized safety hazards can lead to unintended hazard exposure and tragic safety incidents. Unfortunately, traditional hazard recognition interventions (e.g., job hazard analyses and safety training) have been unable to tackle the industry-wide problem of poor hazard...

The adoption and utilization of technology for quality management (QM) processes and procedures is an efficient and effective tool to improve project performance, service life, and cost. Studies using existing and emerging technologies for QM in highway construction have found better results compared with those using conventional or traditional pro...

The construction industry is known for its conservative approach toward adopting new, emerging technologies. This conservative approach for adopting technology is caused by multiple factors including the lack of adequate resources to guide construction practitioners in the process of evaluating whether a construction firm should adopt a certain tec...

The need to meet increasing economic vitality has caused continued deterioration of road surfaces owing to the constant use fueled by high traffic volume. Nighttime paving operations are often seen as a viable solution to reduce traffic disruptions due to maintenance and construction activities. However, state highway agencies (SHAs) are uncertain...

Different factors impact the health and safety of construction workers on a jobsite. Most studies focus on gathering insight on risk factors from researchers or management-related employees using a cross-sectional survey. This study aimed to investigate and rate key factors contributing to worker safety—namely site conditions, as well as human, env...

The adoption and implementation of innovative solutions is an effective means to improve construction safety performance. The use of technology as a preventive tool for stemming the observed disproportionate rate of worker injuries and fatalities in the construction industry as compared with other industrial sectors has gained substantial attention...

The objective of this article was to investigate the impact of Wearable Sensing Devices (WSDs) as a control measure by showing how WSDs features could have prevented fatalities using archival data. Also, the study investigated the perception of top management towards the use of WSDs. Results from the study suggest that 29% - 34% of fatalities inves...

The need to enhance worker safety in construction has become topical in recent times due to the high rates of fatalities and injuries in the construction industry. To abate this scourge, different control methods including the use of technologies have been adopted to improve workplace safety performance in construction. However, not all of the tech...

In construction, high fatality rate remains a major concern of both practitioners and researchers. Wearable Sensing Devices (WSDs), a sub-system of Internet of Things (IoTs), has the potential to improve safety performance. Studies suggest that safety management systems (SMS) can improve safety performance also. However, the interconnectedness betw...

Recent statistics indicate that the number of injuries and fatalities on highway construction projects continues to rise. This increase is attributed mainly to unsafe driver behavior, such as distracted driving, and the distinct features of highway construction projects, for example, nighttime paving. Nighttime paving helps avoid traffic congestion...

Despite the use of traditional and novel approaches to improve construction safety management, safety performance in the construction industry is still considered poor, especially when compared with other US industries. Poor safety performance is responsible in part, for an observed decrease in work quality and employee productivity and an increase...

Once considered conventional, the construction industry is gradually increasing its reliance on innovations such as the application of technologies in safety management. Given the growing literature on technology applications in safety management and the varying opinions on the utility of applied technologies, a systematic review that streamlines f...

Purpose Existing literature suggests that construction worker safety could be optimized using emerging technologies. However, the application of safety technologies in the construction industry is limited. One reason for the constrained adoption of safety technologies is the lack of empirical information for mitigating the risk of a failed adoption...

The high frequency of work-related injuries and fatalities experienced on construction sites makes the construction process a very hazardous endeavor. The collection and analysis of safety data is an important element in measurement and improvement strategy development. Wearable sensing devices (WSDs) and the internet of things (IoT) have been iden...

The adoption, implementation, and the extended use of technologies in the construction industry is a complex phenomenon, impacted by multiple industry-specific variables. Researchers have suggested that the lack of decision support mechanisms—such as forecasting and predicting tools—are significant reasons for the stark contrast in the rate of tech...

In recent times, construction operations have reported enhanced performance as a result of utilizing reality capture technologies, robotics, and the Internet of things (IoT). However, recent studies indicate that these technologies could struggle to diffuse across the construction industry at an acceptable rate. One reason for the predicted stagnat...

The need to enhance worker safety in the construction industry has been discussed extensively in past studies. This need is perpetuated by the high rates of fatality and injuries in the construction industry. Wearable Sensing Devices (WSDs) have been identified as emerging technologies with strong potential for transformative change in many aspects...

Safety performance in the construction industry has reached alarming levels and continues to be a primary source of concern to industry stakeholders. The construction industry is considered more hazardous than other major industries such as manufacturing. In the other industries, safety performance has been substantially improved and generally fall...

Prior studies indicate that safety performance is one of the major determinants of overall organizational success and project performance outcomes. Nevertheless, safety performance in the construction industry is still unsatisfactory and a major source of concern to construction stakeholders. In other industries where safety performance has improve...

Highway construction occasionally takes place in remote locations, making its document management challenging especially when frequent document revisions occur. With the recent advancement of smartphones and tablets, Quick Response (QR) codes can provide project teams rapid and reliable access to up-to-date documents required for field operations....

Evaluating safety maturity of construction contractors before awarding the contract is an effective strategy that many owners have started to implement. Given the importance of workplace safety, awarding the contract to safer contractors can enhance project performance outcomes in terms of safety, quality, cost, and schedule. Safety maturity is one...

- Work zone incident statistics indicate that there is room for improvement in safety for both workers and motorists. - Safety technologies such as work zone intrusion alert technologies are not widely used in highway work zones. Most highway construction stakeholders are not aware of the potential for incident reduction that such technologies can...

Interest in construction innovation has grown considerably over the past three decades. The growth in innovation research was largely spurred by the need to improve poor project performance within the construction industry. A primary contributor to poor construction industry performance is the high rate of construction worker injuries and fatalitie...