No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Utilizing Emerging Technologies for Construction Safety Risk Mitigation
Abstract
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 in project costs and completion time. The architectural, construction, and engineering (ACE) industry should adopt and implement innovative safety practices with high total capacities throughout the project life cycle to improve safety performance in construction. Currently, technologies exist that when used appropriately, have capabilities of notably enhancing safety. However, these technologies are not applied broadly in the industry for safety management. Researchers and professionals believe the limited adoption of these technologies across the life cycle of construction projects is a potential contribution to the recorded poor safety performance in construction. To bridge this gap in practice and encourage the adoption of emerging technologies, the present paper summarizes practical applications of different types of technologies for safety risk mitigation and management in construction. Practical information regarding effectiveness, perceived and actual cost implications of the technologies, and the enablers and barriers of technology adoption is discussed. The discussion of the practical implications of these technologies will assist construction managers in making informed decisions regarding what technologies to adopt and implement, which will ultimately lead to improved safety performance.
... Post-implementation metrics revealed a significant reduction in fall-related incidents. Over two years, fall injuries decreased by 45%, and worker compliance with fall protection protocols improved by 70% [32]. This case demonstrates the effectiveness of tailored risk-based strategies in addressing high-priority hazards in vertical construction projects. ...
... For SMEs, prioritizing safety investments over immediate operational needs can be difficult, especially when profitability is under pressure. As a result, many smaller firms rely on outdated safety practices or focus only on meeting minimal compliance requirements rather than adopting proactive, riskbased approaches [32]. This financial constraint not only limits access to innovative technologies but also hinders the ability to implement holistic safety programs that integrate hazard identification, risk evaluation, and control planning. ...
... Managers must clearly articulate the benefits of risk-based approaches, such as improved safety outcomes, reduced accidents, and greater job satisfaction. Demonstrating tangible results from pilot implementations can further build confidence and acceptance among the workforce [32]. Tailored training programs are also crucial for addressing resistance. ...
... This does not imply that developing safety programs to reduce accident and illness rates does not benefit worker safety; however, Esmaeili and Hallowell (2012) argue that these benefits have plateaued. It is clear that for construction practitioners to work more efficiently and safely, work execution methods must be optimized by including emerging safety and performance technologies (Vähä et al., 2013;Okpala et al., 2020). In response to this need, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) prioritized research on emerging technology that can reduce occupational musculoskeletal disorders and traumatic injuries (CDC, 2018). ...
... Researchers have begun investigating emerging technologies that can combat productivity issues and reduce risks to safety (Arditi & Mochtar, 2000;Okpala et al., 2020). de Soto and Skibniewski (2020) and Delgado et al. (2019) posited that the use of robotics and automation in the construction industry can improve performance at the worker, project, and organization levels, leading to potential improvements in work quality (Ratajczak et al., 2019), reductions in productivity challenges (Balaguer & Abderrahim, 2008), the mitigation of the adverse effects of dangerous working conditions (Henderson & Ruikar, 2010), and other prevalent workforce development issues, like worker retention (Rotatori et al., 2021). ...
... As an effective intervention, a survey of 51 project and construction managers revealed that exoskeletons could prevent over 30% of construction-related WMSDs (Okpala et al., 2022). Other benefits relate to scheduling (Okpala et al., 2022) and the retention of skilled workers who would have left the construction trade due to physical concerns (Bock et al., 2012;Wang et al., 2017b), leading to potential improvements in workers' productivity (Gonsalves et al., 2021;Zhu et al., 2021;Okpala et al., 2020;Kim et al., 2019). Fig. 1 displays examples of active and passive exoskeletons used in the construction industry. ...
... Sanni-Anibire et al. (2019) confirmed this association by developing a risk assessment approach and establishing risk scores and weights for every construction hazard in various projects [1]. Okpala et al. (2020) surveyed the different technologies for mitigating safety risks throughout the project life cycle. They stated that BIM substantially improves the identification of unsafe situations before the beginning of construction [22]. ...
... Okpala et al. (2020) surveyed the different technologies for mitigating safety risks throughout the project life cycle. They stated that BIM substantially improves the identification of unsafe situations before the beginning of construction [22]. While asserting that safety management will start from planning to implementation, Chantawit et al. (2005) found it difficult to analyze what, when, where, and why safety measures are needed. ...
... The introduction of the "overlapping conflict" concept, as we have proposed, fills a notable gap in the current literature, emphasizing overlapping conflicts where activities intersect in time, space, and hazard potential. Our model not only aligns with the sentiments of Okpala et al. (2020) and Chantawit et al. (2005) regarding the significance of BIM in safety management [22,23], but also pioneers an innovative methodology that enhances the depth and breadth of hazard analysis within the BIM environment. ...
Addressing safety risks in construction is an ongoing priority, and integrating safety considerations into construction scheduling is a crucial aspect of this effort. A notable challenge is the safety risk posed by concurrent tasks, which has received limited attention in prior research. This study aims to address this research gap by introducing a novel Building Information Modeling (BIM)-based model that assesses the increased hazardousness resulting from overlapping construction activities. Historically, research has predominantly focused on individual task safety, with less emphasis on the risks associated with overlapping activities. Our innovative approach introduces the concept of a 'source-target' match, which evaluates the degree of hazardousness escalation when activities overlap. Drawing on data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) fatal accident reports, we extracted 11 hazardous and 9 susceptibility attributes to build a source-target match table. This table reveals the characteristics of activities that generate hazardous conflicts when overlapping. The key contribution of this research is the assessment, prioritization, and visualization of risk levels in a BIM environment. This framework empowers safety managers to proactively address safety risks resulting from overlapping construction activities, ultimately reducing accidents in the construction industry. By shedding light on this overlooked aspect of construction safety, our research highlights the importance of integrating safety considerations into construction scheduling and provides a practical tool for mitigating risks, enhancing workplace safety, and ultimately improving project outcomes.
... Construction risks are classified by Sameh M et al (2018), including technical, socioeconomic, fiscal, legal, inevitable, commercial, operational, and political. In the same way Ifeanyi Okpala et al (2020), identified the weather, labour and plant productivity, and material quality as the three primary risks. ...
... On the contrary, under time overrun, design changes, poor worker productivity, insufficient planning, and resource scarcity are the main causes of delays. According to Ifeanyi Okpala et al (2020), determined that most frequent causes of delay in construction projects in Pakistan which were natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes, supply of material, frequent design changes and also delay in payment to contractor. ...
Construction projects often face challenges while execution such as delays and disruptions. Thus, Research studies are being carried out to managing the potential risks such as technical, economical, legal, social, commercial, financial, resource and construction that might arise from delays as well as from disruptions. The prime aim of this research is to identify the causes and effects on construction projects due to delays and disruptions. For the data collection, a descriptive study designed to obtain causes that effected construction projects due to delays and disruptions from regulatory bodies clients, consulting and construction firms. Relative importance index (RII) methodology is utilized for identification of important parameters related to delay and disruptions. In this study random sampling technique are utilized for selection of respondents. For data collection literature review and questionnaires survey techniques are received from respondents. The results obtained from this research study revealed that poor project management, funding problems, design changes, delay in payment to contractors, information delays, disagreement on the valuation of work done and compensation issues are identified as main causes for delays and disruptions. In addition to that, the results mentioned that, major effects include cost overrun, time overrun, negative social impact, disputes and idling resources due to delays and disruptions. The study summarizes that there are few causes that effected delays and disruptions that put projects at risk and impacted on project performance. Therefore, it is suggested that prime focus should be kept on sufficient budget of construction, timely issuing of information, design completion and rational project management skills during procurement processes for betterment.
... WSDs are small wearable devices designed with sensors that continuously monitor a worker's OSH. (Okpala et al., 2020). WSD can facilitate real-time monitoring and preventive practices, implying that mitigating any OSH hazard can be achievable in construction (Ahn et al., 2019). ...
... This represents the initial step towards implementing wearable technologies for OHS in construction through requirements assessment (Okpala et al., 2020). Based on this needs assessment, a methodology is provided to the construction industry to identify the most appropriate wearable technologies for construction sites (Aksut et al., 2024). ...
Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) is important in the construction industry, as it can help ensure the physical, mental and social well-being of workers when performing work-related tasks. Wearable Safety Devices (WSDs) can proactively detect hazards and perform real-time surveillance, enabling the elimination and control of risks and improved safety outcomes. As useful as it is, there are a few things that affect adoption, such as high initial costs, lack of understanding and privacy concerns. This study identifies wearables technology applications that apply to construction. Based on the outcomes, Sri Lankan construction workers exhibited a preference for wearable technologies. Participants in the construction industry provide data via a questionnaire survey, which is then analysed and prioritised using the Relative Importance Index (RII) for wearable technology applications. The key finding from the document identifies that smart shoe for roofing work, smart glasses for dust particles and smart helmets for working at heights are the most prioritised wearable technologies in the Sri Lankan construction industry for enhancing OSH practices. In addition, this study provides insights into how essential it is to introduce wearable technology, from the point of view of overall safety and health implantation practices in the Sri Lankan construction industry and emphasises the importance of a systematic implementation approach suited to the needs and challenges of this region.
... The construction industry, a high-risk sector, is troubled by frequent accidents and injuries, elevating health and safety concerns (Lingard and Rowlinson, 2015). Traditional practices have been applied to combat high workplace injury and fatality rates in the construction industry; however, safety performance remains inadequate (Nnaji and Karakhan, 2020). Thus, researchers continue to seek alternative strategies to enhance safety performance. ...
... The increasing use of digital technologies in construction safety management, such as building information modelling (BIM), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, and sensors, enables early detection and response to workplace hazards, thus improving overall safety (Ahn et al., 2019;Okpala et al., 2020). BIM, among various digital solutions, is rapidly becoming a prime tool for construction safety management (Sidani et al., 2021), proven effective in improving on-site working conditions and safety performance (Cortés-Pérez et al., 2020;Azhar, 2017). ...
Among the various studies that have addressed the application of BIM dynamics in domain of health and safety management, the lack of research regarding the impact of BIM dynamics on safety culture is clearly visible. These days, it is apparent that more and more construction technologies are currently being used for safety and health management. These technologies can be used in different construction applications to mitigate workplace hazards. Among these technologies, BIM and IoT has been shown to have significant potential in high-risk Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) industries. Several researchers have started to explore the potential synergy between BIM and IOT. Dynamic BIM presents an influential pattern for applications to improve construction safety management. The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the necessity of research on the use of dynamic BIM in improving construction safety culture. Hence, the literature review method was used to identify the domains in which dynamic BIM has been applied. Prominent application domains in which dynamic BIM has been applied are construction operation and monitoring, facility management (FM), construction logistic and management, health and safety (H&S) management. Results show that no research has addressed the impact of dynamic BIM on safety culture. Therefore, research related to dynamic BIM and its impact on construction safety culture is necessary.
... According to , this approach is efficient in collecting a large number of empirical data from construction practitioners in the shortest time frame possible. Meanwhile, the adopted approach required low investment in a large population while exempting face-toface interaction which was quite beneficial during the COVID-19 fallout (Nnaji and Karakhan 2020). Initially, an extensive literature review was conducted to identify the implemented COVID-19 H&S measures and the relevant challenges in implementing such measures on construction sites. ...
... However, the unsupportive management is unaware of the issues such as technical constraints, networking problems and insufficient mobile appliances for the training session (Alsharef et al. 2021). With the changes brought about by COVID-19, Okpala et al. (2020) observed that scarcity of technology utilization in H&S management will result in poor H&S records during the pandemic. Stiles et al. (2021) asserted that the transient workforce who has a limited commitment to H&S measures aggravated the risk of cross-contamination despite sustaining the construction activities. ...
... The safety of workers and other stakeholders relied on traditional safety management practices which include; personal protective equipment, safety meeting/trainings, inspections among others. Studies have shown that these manual safety approaches have not yielded positive results in the wake of changing construction processes, challenges and project complexity (Nnaji et al., 2019;Okpala et al., 2020). The rising rate of fatalities in the construction industry underscores the dangers workers are exposed to and the failure of lack of innovative technologies. ...
Construction health and safety is crucial to effective project delivery. Unfortunately, despite stakeholders' effort to improve this on sites, the rate of construction hazards and low productivity are still on the increase. The study delves into the applicable areas of smart wearable technologies for construction health and safety in Nigeria. Data for the study were gathered via a well-structured questionnaire through purposive sampling administered to stakeholders working directly on a sample of forty-three (43) ongoing commercial construction projects in Lagos state, Nigeria. The respondents include project managers, project supervisors, site managers, and health and safety officers, and the data obtained were analyzed using Descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis test with results presented in tables. The findings revealed that the devices most common applicable areas are in the tracking and monitoring the location of workers and object within the site and also given full information of the activities on site coupled with the aspect of Fall from height, slips and trips which deals with monitoring of body posture, speed, rotation, among others. The study suggested that to protect the construction industry from all dangers, the use of these devices should be expanded to other aspects of construction activities so as to achieve best safety and productivity standard on sites.
... This is especially true because many traditional safety measures in construction are still developing, as noted by Al-Bayati et al. (2019) and Erkal et al. (2023). Also, the construction industry is slow to adopt new safety technologies, as Okpala et al. (2020) suggested. Emerging technologies encompass a range of innovations, including building information modeling (BIM), unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), and sensing technologies. ...
The role of technology in managing construction site safety is progressively increasing. However, there is a lack of clear understanding of how technology can be integrated into traditional management practices. This technical note proposes a framework to integrate technology utilization and management practices to improve site safety performance. It mainly focuses on the role of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, in managing construction safety. However, hazard recognition is the first step in the safety management process. Hence, after recognizing the hazard, an assessment must be conducted to adopt an effective safety control measure to prevent injuries. As a technical note, this text introduces a framework based on a comprehensive literature review and established safety management practices. The aim is to underscore the necessity of considering both technological advancements and traditional safety practices to enhance safety on construction sites.
... Underlying Grouping 1: Advanced Digital Technologies Photogrammetry and LiDAR technologies have shown considerable promise in enhancing safety by simplifying work processes. The combination of photogrammetry and LiDAR methods significantly improves hazard recognition and safety planning, while also aiding in the identification of defects and potential hazards through precise measurements and visuals [77]. LiDAR is notable for its application in blind spot detection, preventing construction site accidents [10]. ...
The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry faces ongoing challenges in enhancing safety performance. Despite the availability of advanced technologies for enhancing safety, there is limited understanding of the inter-relationships among safety factors and advanced technologies for enhancing safety performance. This study aims to investigate the inter-relationships among factors affecting safety performance and advanced technologies. A questionnaire survey was disseminated to construction professionals to assess the criticality of factors and strategies. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The findings indicate that 16 factors and eight advanced technologies are critical for enhancing safety. The EFA grouped 11 critical factors into four underlying groupings: safety planning and hazard prevention, workplace environment and supervision, employee safety support, and medical readiness and site protection. Moreover, the EFA grouped the eight critical advanced technologies into two underlying groupings: advanced digital technologies and personal and site monitoring technologies. The correlation analysis demonstrates measurable but weak associations between the factors and advanced technologies, indicating the need for future research to explore additional variables that may impact these relationships. The findings help construction professionals prioritize resources to address the specific groupings of critical factors and advanced technologies.
... Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), sensors, virtual reality, building information modelling (BIM), and other technologies have all been proposed as emerging technologies for safe construction. Their advantages have been investigated for applications such as real-time monitoring, early warning, and quick rescue from hazards [87,88]. Although multiple new technologies are being used for construction safety management to reduce the accident rates, it is difficult to achieve the high safety requirements required using only one technology. ...
Studies have demonstrated the critical role that safety plays in preserving favourable working conditions in the construction industry, which is necessary to accomplish goals. The aim of this research was to inform stakeholders in the construction industry in developing nations about the value of safety and possible strategies for influencing their opinions regarding safety protocols. The importance of safety to the construction sector, which is crucial to the advancement of the country, has also been emphasised. However, due to a lack of adequate safety understanding among stakeholders in the construction sector, the construction industry is characterised by a great deal of instability and hazard. To determine what factors affect productive working conditions in construction production,
this study examined safety. We studied what is obtainable in developed countries through a literature review and then making recommendations for developing countries. A systematic review approach was used to examine 81 research articles on construction safety that were released between 2004 and 2022. There were not many articles on construction safety before 2004. The person dimension, environmental factors, safety behaviour, organisation features, technology, and safety incentives were the six construction safety categories into which the results of this study were classified from the in-depth review of the health and safety literature. Additionally, these construction safety variables were developed into a conceptualised framework. To solve different construction safety issues related to working conditions in the construction sector, this study adds to the body of knowledge by systematically classifying and defining the often-utilised safety variables. It is now imperative to bring in these dimensions to improve the safe working conditions in the construction industry, particularly in developing countries. By putting these safety factors into practice, the construction industry can reduce safety risks, lower the number of accidents and fatalities, cut expenses related
to subpar safety performance, safeguard the reputation of construction companies, boost employee morale and satisfaction with their work, enhance employee retention, reduce absenteeism, and enhance sustainability goals. Furthermore, it is certain that the conceptual framework that has been suggested would be novel and well-liked in developing countries. The conceptual framework was created with this supposition in mind.
... It overcomes the limitations of traditional strategies, which are labour-intensive, often time-consuming, and rely on the expertise of professionals (Hire, et al., 2021). It grants hazard recognition, awareness and communication (Kim, Cho and Zhang, 2016;Okpala, Nnaji and Karakhan, 2020), and risk-indicating systems to prevent specific hazards like falling from heights causing monetary and human loss (Rodrigues, Baptista and Pinto, 2022;Tariq, et al., 2023), which empowers key stakeholders to carry out safety standards and make effective and timely decisions. ...
While initial costs in building economics cover a small portion of the costs incurred during its life-cycle, most occur in construction, operation, and subsequent processes. Despite its numerous contributions to building economics, the construction industry is slowly adapting to digital technologies. To overcome the barriers and crown the assets with their proper management, dynamic applications of digital tools and techniques of Industry 4.0 need to emerge in the construction industry. Therefore, this study aims to present an integrative approach that combines quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques to critically review the available literature on the potential contributions of digital construction technologies to building economics through the post-design phases of the life cycle. The primary focus of the investigation is how digital technologies can overcome prevalent problems and how they can impact building economics. The study contributes to the field by providing an awareness that will inform researchers and practitioners of the trends, gaps, and more profound exchange of ideas in future research efforts.
... Realworld testing is crucial for the effectiveness of construction site safety technologies, focusing on resolving challenges like data accuracy, user resistance, and ensuring scalability and cost effectiveness. Emphasizing technologies as supplements to human factors, rather than the primary focus, is key to improving safety outcomes [18,[122][123][124]. Future studies should explore technological solutions, like advanced monitoring and predictive systems, to predict and prevent task-related malfunctions (E8) in earthmoving equipment operations. ...
Earthmoving operations in the construction process are complex environments that involve interactions between equipment, the workforce, and materials within an overarching construction plan. Over the past two decades, researchers in construction have focused on improving the safety of construction earthmoving equipment due to their omnipresence in the construction environment. Although previous studies have explored safety risks and the causes of accidents involving construction earthmoving equipment, their approaches were common and lacked a comprehensive perspective. Hence, this systematic literature review applies Rasmussen’s (1997) risk management framework using a systems thinking approach to identify and classify the risk factors influencing earthmoving equipment operation safety in construction sites. Utilizing a multistep methodology, this research first identifies 38 risk factors pertinent to earthmoving equipment operations and then classifies them based on systems thinking. Social network analysis (SNA) is employed to analyze the data. The results show that most research on earthmoving equipment safety focuses on monitoring construction sites, but very little on government and regulatory roles. When considering the interdependencies of risk factors, safety training is the most important factor, followed by the largely overlooked earthmoving machinery characteristics and manufacturer’s performance. The results of this review inform both the research community and industry practitioners regarding the less-understood aspects of earthmoving equipment operation safety and future research directions.
... The correlation between features, a statistical measure depicting how one variable varies concerning another, was computed. In instances where the dataset contained highly correlated features, it led to increased variance and unreliability [63]. To overcome this, the correlation coefficient was used as a filter for feature selection. ...
Forecasting solar power generation (SPG) is vital for the development and planning of power systems, offering significant benefits in terms of technical performance and financial efficiency. It enhances system reliability, safety, stability and it reduces the operational costs. This paper's primary goal is to develop models that can precisely forecast solar power generation by analyzing real first-hand dataset of solar power. The value of these forecasting models lies in their ability to anticipate future solar power generation, thus optimizing resource use and minimizing expenses. To achieve this, the study utilizes various classical machine learning, deep learning, and hybrid machine learning techniques, including Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Gated Recurrent Units (GRU), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN), Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Regression (SVR), Bi-directional LSTM (Bi-LSTM), and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). Among these, the hybrid model combining CNN-LSTM-RF demonstrated superior accuracy with R-squared of 92 %, a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 0.07 kW, and a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 0.05 kW. This indicates that the hybrid machine learning model combining of CNN-LSTM-RF is effective in forecasting solar power generation.
... The correlation between features, a statistical measure depicting how one variable varies concerning another, was computed. In instances where the dataset contained highly correlated features, it led to increased variance and unreliability [63]. To overcome this, the correlation coefficient was used as a filter for feature selection. ...
... Therefore, the need for proposing preventive actions and strategies are extremely critical in this context. As per the assessment and views of Okpala et al. (2020), energy usage and carbon emissions are the major concerning factors within residential structures and the construction industry as well. ...
This research investigates the efficacy of sustainable construction practices and green building initiatives in mitigating environmental impacts and promoting resource efficiency in the built environment. Through a thematic analysis of relevant literature, the study examines the adoption of green construction techniques, stakeholder engagement, and the impact of regulatory frameworks on sustainable building practices. Findings highlight the importance of circular economy principles, stakeholder collaboration, and policy support in advancing sustainability goals. The study offers recommendations for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and educational institutions to enhance sustainability efforts in the construction sector, emphasizing the need for integrated approaches to address environmental challenges.
... Nevertheless, several factors may prevent the proper implementation of safety management systems within construction sites, including a lack of resources, training and a poor OHS culture (Buniya et al., 2021). Due to the ongoing global challenges related to rendering construction sites safe, it has been argued that the construction industry should adopt innovative safety practices that use advanced technology to enhance safety (Akinlolu et al., 2022;Okpala et al., 2020;Rao et al., 2022). UK statistics show that falls were the leading cause of workplace fatalities in 2022/3 (HSE, 2023), with statistics from several countries highlighting that falls are the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry (Alsharef et al., 2023;CPWR, 2019;CPWR, 2021;Hu et al., 2011). ...
The Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) was established in Malta in 2002. Since then, trends indicate that non-fatal accidents have decreased in Malta, while changes in fatal accidents are less clear. Since these trends have not been statistically investigated before, this study aims to do so. The study also aims to analyse the link between specific OHSA deterrent measures and changes in non-fatal accidents. A database compiled by the OHSA on the frequency of accident statistics in Malta and OHSA deterrent measures between 2002 and 2022 was analysed. The study demonstrated that the incidence of fatal and non-fatal accidents decreased significantly during the analysed period. The incidence of non
fatal accidents was more common in the transport and storage sector, the
construction sector and the manufacturing sector. Fatal accidents were most frequent within the construction sector. Fatal accidents were common among the self-employed and foreign workers. Deterrents, especially those related to inspections and fines, were significantly associated with a decrease in fatal and non-fatal accidents. The study underscores those accidents have declined significantly since the establishment of the OHSA and demonstrates the benefits of specific deterrent measures. Continued focus is required on specific areas, including the construction sector, self-employed workers and foreign workers.
... Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), sensors, virtual reality, building information modeling (BIM), and other technologies have all been proposed as emerging technologies for safe construction. Their advantages have been investigated for applications such as real-time monitoring, early warning, and quick rescue of hazards Okpala, Nnaji, and Karakhan, 2020). Although multiple new technologies are being used for construction safety management to reduce accident rates, it is difficult to achieve the high safety requirements required using only one technology. ...
Studies have demonstrated the critical role that safety plays in preserving favourable working conditions in the construction industry, which is necessary to accomplish goals. The aim of this research was to inform stakeholders in the construction industry in developing nations about the value of safety and possible strategies for influencing their opinions regarding safety protocols. The importance of safety to the construction sector, which is crucial to the advancement of the country, has also been emphasized. However, due to a lack of adequate safety understanding among stakeholders in the construction sector, the construction industry is characterized by a great deal of instability and hazard. To determine what factors, affect productive working conditions in the construction production, this study examined safety. A conceptual framework for safe working conditions in the construction sector was developed by considering several aspects, including the person dimension, environment factor, safety behaviour, organization features, technology, and incentives. It is now imperative to bring in these dimensions to improve the safe working conditions in the construction industry, particularly in the developing countries. By putting these safety factors into practice, the construction industry can reduce safety risks, lower the number of accidents and fatalities, cut expenses related to subpar safety performance, safeguard the reputation of construction companies, boost employee morale and satisfaction with their work, enhanced employee retention, reduced absenteeism, and enhanced sustainability goals. Additionally, the proposed conceptual framework is assured to be new and to be widely accepted in the developing nations. Based on this assumption the conceptual framework is designed.
... For this reason, it is considered essential to introduce new methodologies or technologies that help to continue decreasing the number of accidents [6]. ...
In the intelligent manufacturing process and digitization, new research spaces have been created, such as reverse engineering and its use for the detection of risks in construction. For this reason, in this research, an analysis methodology is proposed that, through terrestrial laser scanner records in different phases of the work, allows for an analysis and evaluation of the identification of security risks. In addition, by capturing different processes, it can be determined not only interferences from different operators that can generate risk but also establish quality standards in construction, such as determining the thicknesses of the coating of the concrete manufactured “in situ”. Therefore, this research responds to quality analysis in the material execution of the activity and construction of formwork systems and their safety, as well as defining the location of the static and dynamic elements of the model. This value of the morphometric parameter of the building and the scene to be represented characterizes the morphometrics of the work execution activities and finally evaluates the semantic information model of the BIM construction, in which the deformations between the ideal model and what was executed. With the results of this study, it can be concluded that the latest 3D model reconstruction techniques (BIM), together with comparison algorithms, can determine millimeter precision, and with that, it can establish a better method for inspection, evaluation, and control through non-destructive technology.
... In recent years, numerous researchers have undertaken extensive studies on safety management in bridge construction. Following the general research paradigm of risk management [3], these studies can be categorized into three main themes: identification of construction safety risks; calculation of risk index weights; and determination of risk assessment levels. Moreover, risk identification and weight calculation stand out as pivotal components of risk analysis. ...
The safety risk analysis of urban elevated bridge construction is an important management method to reduce the loss of safety accidents, and it has significant scientific research value and engineering application value. Therefore, this study proposes a novel analysis method to address these challenges. Firstly, this paper constructs a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)–Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS) matrix for the safety risk of urban elevated bridge construction in order to achieve a comprehensive and complete identification of the indicator system. Then, a combination of static weights and dynamic weights calculation methods is developed. The static weights are obtained using the analytic hierarchy process, while the dynamic weights are obtained based on the relationship between the dynamic scores of construction safety risk indicators in different construction stages and the preset evaluation levels. Finally, a case study of the Longlingshan elevated bridge project in Wuhan, China, is conducted to validate the feasibility of the proposed model and its potential application in projects. The case analysis for the first time reveals that with the progress of construction, the weights of each indicator continuously change, and the secondary indicators related to environmental factors, such as extreme high-temperature weather, undergo the greatest changes. A comparison of different dynamic weight calculation methods is conducted to highlight the advancement of the proposed model. The research findings of this paper will provide new insights and guidance for improving the construction safety of urban elevated bridge projects.
... This review encompassed thorough searches of relevant academic and industry databases. Like previous studies (Li and Guldenmund, 2018;Okpala et al., 2020), comprehensive searches were conducted on Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases to identify pertinent publications. Additionally, industry resources and technological websites such as Engineering News Report, exoskeletonreport.com ...
... This includes studying their potential hazards, risk mitigation strategies, and safe handling practices (Premanandh, 2011;Pasman et al., 2013;Champion et al., 2017). Research can also explore the development of safety guidelines and standards specific to emerging technologies (Okpala et al., 2020;Laurent and Fabiano, 2022). 5. Human factors and behavioral aspects: Understanding human factors and behavioral aspects is important for improving process safety. Future research can focus on studying human error probabilities, cognitive factors, and safety culture enhancement strategies. ...
This review explores the evolving landscape of process safety, emphasizing the integration of digitalization and advanced technologies. It assesses the role of the industrial Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and machine learning (ML) in enhancing safety protocols. The paper examines predictive analytics, sensor technology advancements, and digital twins' contributions to safety optimization. It also discusses the future perspectives of risk management approaches, including proactive safety management systems, quantitative risk assessment techniques, and human reliability analysis. This comprehensive analysis provides insights into future developments and challenges in process safety.
... This review involved searching relevant academic and industry databases. Similar to previous studies (Li and Guldenmund, 2018;Okpala et al., 2020;Zhou et al., 2015), Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases were searched to identify and select relevant publications. In addition, industry resources and technological websites such as Engineering News Report, such as exoskeletonreport.com ...
... Continuous fall accidents at the construction site have prompted researchers to develop and deploy emerging technologies to address FFH accidents at the construction site. Studies have shown that emerging technologies significantly improve workers' health and safety at construction sites (Nnaji and Karakhan 2020; Okpala et al. 2020). In recent studies, several researchers developed vision-based assessment models to prevent falls from elevation accidents at the construction site Choo et al. 2023;Khalid et al. 2022;Khan et al. 2022b); however, there are numerous challenges associated with it, such as limited line of sight, coverage area, range, and occlusion (Seo et al. 2015). ...
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) identify and determine the causal relationship between hazards and risk factors associated with FFR; and (2) propose an integrated real-time monitoring framework to mitigate these hazards. To achieve these objectives, a literature review and archival analysis were conducted to investigate the root causes of FFR accidents. This investigation led to the identification of the types of falls, key risk factors, and causal relationships. Next, different digital technologies applications were evaluated based on their ability to mitigate the risk factors, and the most effective sensor technologies for real-time monitoring were considered. The primary sensors for the proposed monitoring framework include computer vision, inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors, and insole sensors. Finally, a protocol for integrating these sensors is proposed. The present study revealed that the lack of PPE use, loss of balance, unsafe behavior, and manual monitoring are the primary root causes of FFR. The proposed framework has the potential to address hazards associated with FFR. Therefore, the present study contributes to fall prevention management research by developing a framework and protocol for enhancing hazard identification and accident prevention.
... It is timely for Malaysia to replace the existing labor-intensive practice towards automation and robotics. This technology-driven change can reduce manpower with the possibility of eliminating some construction worker [29] [30]. Through adoption innovative technologies, the issue of relying on foreign labor in the construction industry can be resolved and at the same time the new technology can attract local TVET players to join the industry with clear skill pathways towards certification. ...
Standard Penetration Test (SPT) is the most frequently used field test for site investigation where drilling work is performed in-situ to determine properties of geomaterials for a project. The SPT results can be affected by the ‘SPT System,’ which includes the operator of the drill rig, the specific model of the drill rig itself, the SPT equipment used to perform the test, and the procedures used in performing the overall test. The safety hazards associated with the system affect the SPT results. Although several countries are embracing innovative technologies in the SPT drilling works to enhance safety performance, the adoption of these technologies in Malaysia remains relatively sluggish. This study aims to analyse the current SPT practice in Malaysia from the lens of ‘the SPT System,’ technologies used in the SPT drilling works, and identify the best practice adopted locally in ensuring safety. This study collected 102 responses using a questionnaire survey validated by four construction professionals experienced in the SPT drilling works. The study revealed that the British Standards are the most used standards in Malaysia. The traditional methods are still being practiced as the “SPT System’ in Malaysia due to the difficulties in obtaining skilled operators for new technology adoption. Advanced technologies have not been adopted because construction professionals are complacent with the current technologies. Amongst innovative safety gear, smart equipment tags and smart wrist wearables are the most favourable. This study presents new findings and sheds light into the local practice of the construction professionals in Malaysia in the SPT drilling works. This study provides an insight for Malaysian construction industry to develop a strategy in improving the efficiency and safety of SPT drilling works through adoption of innovative technologies. Technology driven safety hazard mitigation may boost Malaysian Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) industry and in doing so will increase TVET operators to be trained and certified.
... Followed by safety, there is a range of preventive measures for logistics, known as driver-assistance systems, fatigue programs, ergonomic seats, etc. In contrast, having detailed specifications of obtainable materials for safety technologies will increase the implementation of safety innovations during the whole project lifecycle [71]. Ignoring any safety aspect leads not only to environmental or societal damage but can be extremely costly due to direct and indirect costs associated with an accident. ...
The value of Building Information Modelling (BIM) is widely discussed within all construction stages including the data-driven culture across building processes and sustainable impact in the long term. Yet, there is a need to explore the opportunities of BIM in improving construction materials management (CMM) as a core function of supply chain management. Due to the dearth of studies on BIM potential in improving CMM within the sustainability context, the authors examine the effectiveness and efficiency of BIM-enabled materials management, via three data streams: a literature review, an online survey, and interviews with subject matter experts in the field. This study aims to explore the drivers of BIM-enabled sustainable construction materials management. This is the preliminary study designed to test the initial hypotheses based on an online questionnaire application to derive tacit knowledge from industry and academic experts, followed by short interviews with respondents. Grounded in the comprehensive literature review, 24 indicators were defined for survey purposes. Preliminarily, 206 experts from 10 countries responded to the survey. The results show significant differences in the ranking of the indicators among the five factors. In developing countries, among two groups, industry sample awareness scales demonstrated lower understanding than among academic experts. Another finding relates to the significant agreement in scaling the importance of opportunities among industrial and academic sector experts. The research adds knowledge to deepen the understanding of opportunities of BIM-enabled materials management as a part of building project sustainable performance for industry policy and decision-makers. It also brings attention to the lack of sustainability awareness amongst industry experts in developing countries. Although materials constitute a solid part of any construction project cost, there is still a collaboration gap among designers, materials management, and, more broadly, supply chain management experts.
... However, the last subprinciple of automation (robotics) were categories that existed in the literature, but they weren't recorded in our case studies. These solutions require higher investments (Okpala et al., 2020) and third-party activities to be implemented, besides drones, which were classified accordingly to their main usage, which was inspections (P4; avoid regular entries). Factors such as agility, strength, and perception of the environment came to mind as barriers to the adoption of robotics. ...
Confined space work is an important activity in various industries and a significant cause of workplace fatalities worldwide. Accidents and fatalities persist despite international standards, regulations, and efforts to improve safety in confined spaces. To address this issue, it is crucial to understand and disseminate knowledge on accident prevention strategies for confined spaces, to raise awareness among safety practitioners, and to harmonize communication between designers and end-users to anticipate OHS risks throughout a structure's lifecycle. Besides, confined spaces are unique and context-dependent, which affects the flexibility of their design and modifications. This paper introduces a Confined Space Permanent Collective Protection (CSPCP) knowledge base as a set of design-oriented principles and sub-principles that can be integrated into confined spaces to protect workers. It incorporates data from legislative and normative safety management frameworks, Inherently Safer Design (ISD) principles, literature-based solutions, expert knowledge, and contextual guidance on 112 CSPCP solutions based on the analysis of 19 case studies. This guidance is finally presented as a relational database, considering input from experts and client-side designers to understand the advantages and limitations of CSPCP for retrofitting confined spaces or designing and manufacturing new ones. Moreover, it provides owners, designers, and safety specialists access through flexible queries to help them balance safety, profitability, and investment.
The construction industry remains one of the most hazardous sectors, necessitating constant advancements in safety management technologies to protect workers. This review focuses on key innovations that have transformed construction safety management, including wearable technology, artificial intelligence (AI) for hazard detection, and safety training software. Wearable devices like smart helmets and vests monitor workers' health and alert them to unsafe conditions, while AI-based systems detect potential hazards in real-time, enhancing situational awareness. Additionally, software platforms for safety training have digitized the learning process, ensuring compliance and delivering dynamic, customizable content. The integration of these technologies has shifted safety management from reactive to proactive, significantly reducing the risk of accidents and injuries. This article aims to review the latest research in these areas, identify gaps, and provide recommendations for future developments. By examining the benefits, impacts, and challenges associated with these advancements, we present a comprehensive overview of how construction safety management is evolving. The findings indicate that while these technologies offer significant advantages, challenges such as cost, adoption, and technical limitations remain. Future research must focus on overcoming these barriers to ensure widespread implementation across the industry.
Concerns over the slow pace and work progress among construction companies are pervasive. Nonetheless, technology has the potential tobridgethis inefficiency gap. Thus, thisstudy assessesthe degreeof adoption of innovative technologies duringthe building production phase with a view to enhancingproject delivery. The study's objectivesareto evaluate the socio-economic benefits of adoptinginnovativetechnologies, establish the degree of satisfaction with the organization’s deployment of innovative technologies, and determine the level of technology adoption at the construction stage. The study adoptsa survey research strategy to collect data from the respondents in Lagos Metropolis. The populationof the studycomprisesbuilt environmentprofessionals who work in construction micro-small-medium-enterprises (CMSMEs). Criterion based; deliberate, purposive sampling research strategy was deployed to select 109 respondents from the study’s population. The statistical tools usedfor the analysis includefrequency, percentages, mean scores, relative implementation index, and ranking. The findings demonstrated thatmobile technologies arethe most often utilizedamong the twelve groupsof technologies deployed during construction. In contrast, wearable technologies arethe least deployed. The study concludesthat the current level of technology adoption is low and varies among the CMSMEs. The divergence in technology adoption indicates that CMSMEs in Lagos Metropolis are yet to fully harness innovative technologies to boost construction operations duringthe building production phase. The study recommendsthat CMSMEs leverage innovative technologies to enhance the construction phase. This may be accomplished by creating a budget for its uptake and deployment during the building production phase in a bid to unlock itsfull potential and benefits. Besides, manufacturers of underutilized technologies should amplify product awareness among building firms in Lagos Metropolis. This may be accomplished by organizing trainingand demonstration programs for construction industry stakeholders on the benefits of deploying the technologies.
Purpose
This paper evaluates the benefits of harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) tools for safety compliance on construction projects in Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed a specialised approach by combining qualitative and quantitative approach. The study carried out a brief systematic literature review (SLR) to identify the variables of the study. These variables were prepared in a questionnaire which was distributed among professionals within the Nigerian construction sector using purposive sampling. A total of 140 questionnaires were retrieved. The collected data were analysed using Relative Importance Index (RII), Ginni’s Mean (GM) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA).
Findings
The analysis revealed that all the identified benefits hold considerable importance, with an average RII of 0.86, with real-time monitoring as the most prominent advantage. However, using the GM which was 0.861, the study identified “mitigation of hazards on worksites” as the stationary benefit of AI in safety compliance.
Research limitations/implications
The study was conducted exclusively within Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, using a cross-sectional survey approach.
Practical implications
The results will be valuable for professionals and practitioners in the Nigerian construction sector, as they will acquire insights into the potential advantages of utilising AI tools for monitoring of safety compliance on construction projects.
Originality/value
The study adopted a robust approach by identifying the stationary benefit using the GM in combination with RII and EFA.
This paper aims to assess user awareness of electricity consumption at a public university in Ghana based on the norm activation model (NAM). The study adopted a survey design, using closed-ended questionnaires as the main data collection instruments. Data was collected from 300 respondents (staff and students) of the
university and analysed descriptively using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.
The study found that the level of user awareness (as defined by NAM) of electricity consumption among staff and students is moderate. Therefore, the more energy campaigns users are exposed to the higher their level of user awareness (awareness of consequence, ascription of responsibility and personal norm).
The findings of this study can assist university management boards and other
organisations in recognising the potential for reducing electricity use by increasing user knowledge. Ultimately, this can result in added value. The study makes a significant contribution to the literature on the NAM by exclusively focusing on the variables of NAM to assess the level of user awareness of electricity consumption
in a university setting.
Purpose – Traditional mosques face inefficiencies in energy use, outdated infrastructure, and inadequate security, all of which lead to high costs and safety concerns. Transforming mosques into smart buildings using emerging technologies can optimize energy consumption, enhance security, improve resource management, promote sustainability and improve user comfort by addressing overcrowding and inadequate facilities. Despite the limited studies on this topic, this systematic literature review aims to explore the current trends in using emerging technologies to transform mosques into smart buildings. Design/Methodology/Approach – The study used Scopus-indexed literature from 2005 to 2024 to investigate the transformation of mosques into smart buildings using emerging technologies. Based on relevance, quality, recency, geographical focus, and diversity of perspectives, the authors selected 43 records from 156. VOSviewer software provided a quantitative overview of trends, while content analysis offered deeper insights by coding and categorizing themes. This combined approach ensured a comprehensive understanding of current practices and advancements in the field. Findings – The study found a significant interest in integrating emerging technologies into building architecture and management, particularly focusing on energy efficiency and user comfort. This interest was reflected in the concentration of studies in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, China, and Australia. Authors categorized the identified knowledge areas into two main clusters: design and energy-efficient buildings, and technology and intelligent buildings. These clusters represent the dual emphasis on creating energy-efficient structures and incorporating advanced technologies to enhance building intelligence. While the study did not provide specific quantitative results, it highlighted a clear trend towards the adoption of smart building technologies in these key areas, indicating a global shift towards more sustainable and efficient building practices. Practical Implications – Smart building technologies offer significant benefits to practitioners in architecture, facility management, engineering and others such as religious leadres, community members and policy makers, which optimize lighting, heating, cooling, and ventilation, leading to substantial reductions in energy consumption and operational costs. Intelligent design elements such as smart crowd management systems and personalized environmental controls enhance the user experience and satisfaction. The adoption of sustainable materials and renewable energy sources reduces environmental impact, aligning with global sustainability goals. Automated monitoring and predictive maintenance systems improve operational efficiency, reducing downtime and maintenance costs. And alos, smart building technologies enable practitioners to create efficient, sustainable, and user-centric environments, enhancing the quality and performance of buildings such as mosques. Originality/Value – This study provides valuable insights into the current practices and trends in using emerging technologies to transform mosques into smart buildings. While previous studies have explored various aspects of smart buildings and sustainability in different contexts, there is limited research specifically focusing on the transformation of mosques. This study aims to fill this gap by offering insights into the application of smart technologies in mosque architecture and management, highlighting the benefits and challenges associated with this transformation. Examining Scopus-indexed literature and using VOSviewer software for visualization and analysis, this study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on smart buildings and their potential impact on religious and communal structures.
Artificial intelligence has emerged as a technology to enhance productivity and improve life quality. However, its role in building energy efficiency and carbon emission reduction has not been systematically studied. This study evaluated artificial intelligence’s potential in the building sector, focusing on medium office buildings in the United States. A methodology was developed to assess and quantify potential emissions reductions. Key areas identified were equipment, occupancy influence, control and operation, and design and construction. Six scenarios were used to estimate energy and emissions savings across representative climate zones. Here we show that artificial intelligence could reduce cost premiums, enhancing high energy efficiency and net zero building penetration. Adopting artificial intelligence could reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions by approximately 8% to 19% in 2050. Combining with energy policy and low-carbon power generation could approximately reduce energy consumption by 40% and carbon emissions by 90% compared to business-as-usual scenarios in 2050.
The building sector, particularly in the context of highrise buildings, presents unique health and safety risk management challenges. This bibliometric study seeks to examine and assess the current research on risk management in health and safety, specifically in highrise building development. By examining scholarly articles, this study seeks to identify key themes, trends, and gaps in the current knowledge base. A comprehensive search of relevant databases using VOSviewer yielded diverse scholarly articles, journals, and conference papers. The findings show 1000 studies comprising 469 journal articles, 478 books, seven monographs, two reports, and 41 additional formats. The visualization shows the keywords "Safety" and "Health" as the most impactful. The analysis reveals the evolution of research over time and the interdisciplinary nature of studies in this critical domain. The results of this study enhance our comprehension of the corpus of data and offer valuable suggestions for potential avenues of future investigation.
The construction industry, characterized by unique challenges such as working at heights and using heavy equipment, has turned 6 to unmanned aerial systems (UASs), frequently known as drones, to mitigate workplace hazards, improve safety, and enhance productivity. 7 While numerous benefits claimed, application UASs in construction introduces unique safety challenges. The objectives of the present study 8 are (1) to identify risks associated with the use of UASs for construction operations based on a review of existing literature, and (2) to present 9 the identified risks to industry professionals and practitioners using hypothetical case study examples. The study findings indicate that risks 10 associated with the use of UASs in construction can be classified into four categories: operational errors and safety hazards, privacy intrusions 11 and security risks, mechanical and technical failures, and regulatory and legal considerations. After identifying the risks, three hypothetical 12 examples are carefully developed and presented in collaboration with aviation safety experts to help industry people better comprehend risks 13 associated with the use of UASs in construction. Each case study delineates hazards that could emerge on a construction site and explains 14 the connection between these hazards and the utilization of UASs. The presented case studies also recommend risk mitigation strategies 15 and best practices for using UASs for construction operations. The present study contributes to practice by aiding construction companies in 16 risk awareness, safety training, and risk mitigation for UAS applications in construction.
New technologies are bringing about significant advancements in the construction sector, which is renowned as one of the most hazardous industries. The digital twin concept is among these technologies, with its full prospects still to be investigated. This paper conducts an exhaustive round of literature review on the application of digital twins in construction safety that identifies state of the art and discovers possible future directions. First, a scientometric analysis was applied to gather information from the collected studies. Then a content analysis was applied to associate the studies to different stages of the lifecycle of a typical project. Furthermore, the gap spotting technique was used to discern future research directions in construction safety. The study findings suggest that IoT and BIM have emerged as the predominant technologies for the development of digital twins aimed at enhancing safety management. While the design phase has almost been entirely overlooked in studies, the construction phase has received the closest attention. The use of digital twins in developing the concepts of design for safety, managing unsafe behavior, investigating the effect of climate hazards on-site and providing safety for non-operators are some topics spotted as research gaps for future developments.
This chapter investigates the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to the upkeep of safety equipment for employees across several industries. Wear and tear, exposure to dangerous materials, and other factors can reduce the effectiveness of protective equipment, making routine maintenance essential to ensuring that it stays functional and offers sufficient protection. It is explained how AI can be used for preventative maintenance, checks and repairs, and extending the lifespan of safety equipment. AI is capable of identifying tears or other damage in personal protective equipment (PPE), guiding repairs, and extending the lifespan of equipment. Incorporating AI into protective equipment maintenance can improve safety, save time and money, and as technology advances, it has the potential to completely change how protective equipment is maintained and managed. The chapter concludes that in order to preserve worker safety and wellbeing, enterprises should integrate AI into their strategy for maintaining protective equipment.
Abstract
Purpose – Policymakers are developing national strategic plans to encourage organizations to adopt
Construction 4.0 technologies. However, organizations often adopt the recommended technologies without
aligning with organizational vision. Furthermore, there is no prioritization on which Construction 4.0
technology should be adopted, including the impact of the technologies on different criteria such as safety and
health. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate Construction 4.0 technologies listed in a national strategic plan
that targets the enhancement of safety and health.
Design/methodology/approach – A list of Construction 4.0 technologies from a national strategic plan
is evaluated using the fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method.
Then, the data are analyzed using reliability, fuzzy TOPSIS, normalization, Pareto, sensitivity, ranking and
correlation analyses.
Findings – The analyses identified six Construction 4.0 technologies that are critical in enhancing safety
and health: Internet of Things, autonomous construction, big data and predictive analytics, artificial
Intelligence, building information modeling and augmented reality and virtualization. In addition, six pairs of
Construction 4.0 technologies illustrate strong relationships.
Originality/value – This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by ranking a list of
Construction 4.0 technologies in a national strategic plan that targets the enhancement of safety and health.
Decision-makers can use the study findings to prioritize the technologies during the adoption process. Also, to
the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to evaluate the impact of Construction 4.0
technologies listed in a national strategic plan on a specific criterion.
Keywords Construction 4.0, Emerging technologies, Fuzzy TOPSIS, Safety and health
Paper type Research paper
The variability of hazards occurring during the construction and expansion of temporary metal structures is the result of many factors. It mainly depends on the environment in which the structure is to be built and the ground on which it is to be located. The fitter generates the most threats during work related to the transfer of elements of a given metal structure as well as assembly and disassembly, and therefore the fitter is the most exposed person to any threats related to the construction of a metal structure.
Safety is one of the most important success factors in construction projects. Many advanced technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, construction robotics, and digital technologies, have been increasingly implemented to support safety activities on construction sites and improve workers' health. The objective of this paper is to investigate applications of existing and emerging construction safety technologies across different construction safety areas. A systematic review methodology was conducted to analyze 129 journal articles published from 2018 to 2023 related to construction safety technologies. The results of this study include a detailed categorization of advanced technologies in four construction safety categories: prevention through design, safety management, safety culture and awareness, and computing in construction safety. Additionally, a checklist of recommended technologies for specific construction safety improvement areas was developed. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by systematically categorizing and specifying the commonly used advanced technologies to address various construction safety problems.
ScienceDirect provided us with 50 days' free access to the article. Use the below link before January 28, 2024, to read or download the final article for free. https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1iE8N3IhXMxVFk
In the era of Industry 4.0, marked by the integration of digitization, automation, and data synthesis, emerging technologies play a vital role in mitigating ergonomic hazards within construction work environments. This study investigates the research trends encompassing the adoption of three categories of emerging technologies—(1) wearable sensors; (2) extended reality, which combines virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR); and (3) exoskeletons and robotics—as the means to mitigate the risk of occupational nonfatal injuries in the construction industry. Employing bibliometric and scientometric analyses, a quantitative examination of the relationship in the literature is performed. From the Scopus database, 347 papers were selected from a pool of 1603 publications from 2018 to 2022. The conducted scientometric analyses encompass annual publication trends, keyword co-occurrence analysis, journal-source analysis, author analysis, and country analysis using VOSviewer (version 1.6.19) and bibliometrix software (version 4.1.3). The findings highlight the crucial role of advanced technologies in enhancing safety and health management in the construction industry. Wearable sensors, for example, offer promising capabilities for real-time monitoring, potentially reducing the risk of onsite injuries by alerting workers to hazards. Extended reality, especially VR, can enhance the effectiveness of safety-training education by simulating realistic scenarios while minimizing exposures to hazardous conditions that workers may face onsite challenges. Furthermore, the integration of exoskeletons and robotics has the potential to reduce physical strain and injury risks among workers, particularly in physically demanding tasks. The review paper identifies current research trends in applying emerging technologies to occupational safety and health within the construction industry, while also suggesting future research directions in this dynamic field.
Over the last decade, researchers have used virtual- and mixed-reality (VR-MR) techniques for various safety-related applications such as training, hazard monitoring, and preconstruction planning. This paper reviews the recent trends in virtual- and mixed-reality applications in construction safety, explicitly focusing on virtual-reality and mixed-reality techniques as the two major types of computer-generated simulated experiences. Following a systematic literature assessment methodology, this study summarizes the results of articles that have been published over the last decade and illustrates the research trends of virtual- and mixed-reality applications in construction safety while focusing on the technological components of individual studies.
The primary advantages of utilizing a mobile robot, Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV), are its autonomous navigation and data collection capabilities from a large-scale environment. However, the UGV is restricted by its limited perception ability in a cluttered environment. To address this limitation, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) can cooperate with the UGV and build out a detailed and complete map. The objectives of this study are to operate aerial and ground robots cooperatively and to fuse point cloud data complementarily. This paper introduces an autonomous cooperation framework using UGV and UAV for 3D geometric data collection in a dynamic cluttered environment. First, UAV is deployed and collects 3D terrain data by using photo images to get an overall idea of the target site. Then, the path planning and stationary scanning locations for UGV are estimated using the gradient-based 3D model generated by UAV. This method was tested on a real-world construction site and obtained promising results. The proposed UAV-UGV cooperative robotic approach is expected to reduce human intervention in data collection and data processing time significantly. Furthermore, it enables frequent monitoring, updating, and analyzing a cluttered environment for timely decision making. INTRODUCTION The current available 3D laser scanners capture the surrounding 3D position data with unprecedented speed and millimeter accuracy; their main application is in the visualization, modeling, and monitoring of infrastructures and buildings. It is challenging to obtain a high-resolution point cloud quickly and with well-known, quality observations, but this task is essential for surveying applications in particular. This is due to the fact that the occlusion by objects and scanning geometry plays an important role in the quality of the resulting laser scanned point cloud. Furthermore, the dynamic and complex characteristics of the construction sites not only require a variety of 3D geometric data but also make it difficult to collect spatial data efficiently and effectively. The 3D geometric data acquisition process relies on the intuition
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 stagnation is the lack of standardization and regulations for these technologies. Given the importance of standards and regulation to technology adoption and the need to keep construction stakeholders informed with industry trends, it is essential to synthesize and document the current state of industry standards and regulations associated with emerging construction technologies. Presently, a few studies have evaluated the current state of regulations affecting some promising construction technologies. However, these studies were limited to national regulations and focused on a specific technology without pointing out important trends, opportunities for interoperability standards, and synergies across multiple technologies. To fill this gap, a global search was conducted to identify and streamline the available standards and regulations governing four promising construction management technologies—exoskeleton, IoT, LiDAR, and UAVs. Technology implementation experts from six countries were interviewed to qualitatively analyze the intersection between standards and regulations and the diffusion of emerging technologies. Results from the study suggest that although there is a growing development and implementation of technology standards and regulations in Western Europe and North America, construction-specific standards and regulations are sparse. In closing, recommendations that could help accelerate the development of standards and practical regulations that drive adoption are provided.
Digital photogrammetry has experienced rapid development regarding the technology involved and its ease of use over the past two decades. We revisit the work of Jim Chandler who in 1999 published a technical communication seeking to familiarise novice users of photogrammetric methods with important theoretical concepts and practical considerations. In doing so, we assess considerations such as camera calibration and the need for photo-control and check points, as they apply to modern software and workflows, in particular for Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry. We also highlight the implications of lightweight drones being the new platform of choice for many photogrammetry-based studies in the geosciences. Finally, we present three examples based on our own work, showing the opportunities that SfM photogrammetry offers at different scales and systems: at the micro-scale for monitoring geomorphological change, and at the meso-scale for hydrological modelling and the reconstruction of vegetation canopies. Our examples showcase developments and applications of photogrammetry which go beyond what was considered feasible 20 years ago and indicate future directions that applications may take. Nevertheless, we demonstrate that, in-line with Chandler’s recommendations, the pre-calibration of consumer-grade cameras, instead of relying entirely on self-calibration by software, can yield palpable benefits in micro-scale applications and that measurements of sufficient control points are still central to generating reproducible, high-accuracy products. With the unprecedented ease of use and wide areas of application, scientists applying photogrammetric methods would do well to remember basic considerations and seek methods for the validation of generated products.
This paper proposes a camera placement framework that incorporates characteristics of complex construction jobsites. The proposed framework consists of three main processes: (1) identification of visual monitoring determinants, influencing factors, and camera placement conditions; (2) problem definition and mathematical modeling; and (3) hybrid simulation-optimization of camera placement on construction jobsites. To evaluate the performance of the proposed framework, a case study for an actual construction jobsite was performed. The results of the case study show the potential of the proposed framework to find the optimal number, types, locations, and orientations of cameras for jobsite visual monitoring. This research makes three main contributions: (1) identification of critical elements to be considered when installing fixed cameras on complex construction jobsites; (2) development of a systematic framework for camera placement on jobsites; and (3) visualization and quantification of multiple camera network designs and their performance (i.e., total costs and visible coverages) before installing cameras at actual jobsites. © 2019 This work is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license,.
The objective of this article was to summarize the applications of technology for safety management. This article is expected to help improve technology adoption and diffusion in the construction industry especially with respect to safety, and provides ideas for potential technology applications in safety management. Increased technology adoption is expected to be associated with improved performance outcomes with respect to safety, quality, and productivity.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or drones, have become popular tools for practitioners and researchers alike. Recent years have seen a significant increase in UAV uses for many applications in the fields of science and engineering. A broad array of research development in UAVs has been reported in the literature. This paper provides a summary review of efforts related to UAV development with a focus on civil infrastructure applications. First, guidance is provided for researchers looking to newly incorporate UAVs into their research efforts. The advantages and disadvantages between different UAV types are outlined and performance characteristics discussed. Examples of different sensor payloads that demonstrate expanded functionality are provided. The review also provides an overview of research efforts in the emerging domain of wireless sensor networks and data processing algorithms specific to UAV-collected data. Highlights of recent achievements of UAVs in post-disaster reconnaissance, infrastructure component monitoring, geotechnical engineering, and construction management are presented. Lessons learned from UAV implementation and considerations for good practice are also discussed. The paper concludes with a discussion of the emerging and future research domains that address the most pressing knowledge gaps in current practice.
Although proper safety management in construction is of prime importance, evidence from literature suggests that many developing countries do not consider safety adequately. This article examines the factors that influence the performance of safety management programmes in the Ghanaian Construction Industry. The objectives set to achieve this aim include identifying the safety elements incorporated in the safety programmes of construction firms, and determining the factors that negatively influence the performance of such elements. For objectivity, a quantitative survey was conducted among safety managers of 60 D1 building construction firms located in the Kumasi and Greater Accra regions of Ghana. The questionnaire was structured into three parts, which sought the respondents’ profile, identified the safety elements incorporated in the firms’ safety programmes, and identified the factors that negatively influence the performance of the safety elements. Following a detailed literature review, the respondents were asked to rate 13 elements and 17 factors on a Likert scale. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 22. In addition to determining the reliability of the various constructs, the MSs, modes and standard deviations were obtained. The findings revealed that all of the 13 elements were incorporated in the firms’ safety programmes. The key elements identified include ‘providing safety managers on site’; ‘providing written and comprehensive safety and health plans’; ‘introducing project-specific training and regular safety meetings’; ‘providing safety and health orientation training’, and ‘involving employees in safety and evaluation’.
The findings further revealed that 16 of the 17 factors negatively influence the
performance of the firms’ safety programmes. The identified factors were, among
others, ‘insufficient communication of safety programmes’; ‘lack of workers’
self-protection and awareness’; ‘contractors ignoring safety, due to the time
pressures of the project schedule’; ‘poor personal attitudes towards safety’,
and ‘ineffective laws and lack of enforcement’. Findings from this study should
be useful to construction practitioners seeking to improve the safety records of
their firms.
The internet of things, artificial intelligence and cloud computing offer new opportunities for smart applications in many industries. Potential benefits include improvements of industrial processes, products and services, greater dependability and lower operational costs. This paper reports on an analysis of trends, opportunities and challenges for smart construction by conducting a review of recently published scientific articles. It provides an overview of emerging smart construction applications in areas such as construction monitoring, construction site management, safety at work, early disaster warning, and resources and assets management. © 2019 Published with permission by the ICE under the CC-BY 4.0 license.
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 falls within acceptable levels. One noticeable difference between construction and other industries is that the rate of technology implementation in the other industries is significantly higher than in construction. High rates of technology implementation are expected to lead to improved safety and non-safety performance. The primary objective of the present study is to summarize the use of technology alternatives in the application of the hierarchy of controls using a preliminary, unstructured review of literature. The hierarchy of controls is a systematic method to reduce worker exposure to workplace hazards and mitigate potential safety risks on jobsites. The result of the study indicated that there are several technological controls used to mitigate workplace safety hazards during construction. Although virtual reality and building information modelling (BIM) are more effective than others in mitigating workplace safety hazards, the other technologies such as wearable sensing devices, warning systems, drones, and robotics can play significant role in protecting and/or alerting workers from potential workplace safety hazards. It is expected that the present study will help industry practitioners improve their understanding of technological controls used to mitigate workplace hazards and motivate higher levels of technology adoption in construction.
With rapid developments in building information modelling (BIM) technology, the collection, analysis and sharing of information over the full life cycle of construction projects is becoming increasingly important. This paper proposes an innovative BIM-based intelligent site management model which combines the internet, three-dimensional scanning, digital construction models, virtual reality and augmented reality. The model can be used for smarter human resource management, machinery and resource allocation, supervision of materials, site access, quality control, safety and other important information. Decision-making can be based on live updates which will, in turn, improve productivity and efficiency.
After the discovery and manufacturing of every accomplishment, the mankind tends to make it sustainable in terms of different aspects that one of them can be its durability. Nowadays, a science titled “health monitoring” has provided such a consideration in different fields. For example, civil engineering sciences, in various branches, aim to construct various civil engineering accomplishments, followed by the higher goals of making them durable and healthy. The present study tries to give an account about the various study fields like structural engineering, bridge construction, dam construction, hydraulic and on-beach constructions, road engineering and building, water resources management and so on along with the mentioning of the various methods extant for the implementation of such study fields. But, in between, there is an appropriate method that provides such objectives as cost-effectiveness, access to the entire required details, awareness of the civil infrastructures in order to estimate the remained lifetime of the structure in line with the continuation and/or change of the uses. Also, it has high precision and minimally influenced by the environment, so, it can be said that it has very little error in its collection of information. For instance, this method can be used to evaluate the ruination of the structures based on modal properties, which can have static or dynamic foundations such that the current state of the structure is compared to its ideal state to monitor the degree of the structure’s ruination or its soundness. In present study, it was tried to investigate the artificial intelligence science as one of the richest methods possessing all the prerequisites as well as having more traits in common with the various sub-disciplines of civil engineering so that it can be utilized more comprehensively and in a more centralized manner.
Virtual Reality (VR) has been rapidly recognized and implemented in construction engineering education and training (CEET) in recent years due to its benefits of providing an engaging and immersive environment. The objective of this review is to critically collect and analyze the VR applications in CEET, aiming at all VR-related journal papers published from 1997 to 2017. The review follows a three-stage analysis on VR technologies, applications and future directions through a systematic analysis. It is found that the VR technologies adopted for CEET evolve over time, from desktop-based VR, immersive VR, 3D game-based VR, to Building Information Modelling (BIM)-enabled VR. A sibling technology, Augmented Reality (AR), for CEET adoptions has also emerged in recent years. These technologies have been applied in architecture and design visualization, construction health and safety training, equipment and operational task training, as well as structural analysis. Future research directions, including the integration of VR with emerging education paradigms and visualization technologies, have also been provided. The findings are useful for both researchers and educators to usefully integrate VR in their education and training programs to improve the training performance.
With the rapid advancement of laser scanning and photogrammetry technologies, geometric data collection at construction sites by contractors has been increased to improve constructability, productivity, and onsite safety. Especially, the latest laser scanning technology provides faster scanning-speed, longer ranges, and higher accuracy and resolutions. However, the conventional static laser scanning method suffers from operational limitations due to the presence of many occlusions commonly found in a typical construction site. Full scanning without information loss requires that the scanning location should be changed several times, which also leads to extra work for registering each scanned point cloud. Alternatively, this paper presents an autonomous mobile robot which navigates a construction site and continuously updates a progress of 3D scanning with point clouds. This mobile robot system uses the 3D simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technique to determine its navigation paths in an unknown environment, capture the survey-quality RGB mapped point cloud data, and automatically register the scans for geometric reconstruction of a construction site. The performance of the overall system was tested in indoor environments and validated with promising results.
While construction is a major contributor to the U.S. economy, it is reported that construction trades workers retire early due to Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs) and overexertion involving lifting, bending and twisting more often than other occupational groups. To investigate and prevent WMSDs especially the low back pain in construction work, practitioners and researchers adopted several engineering and management measures. The examples include reducing the material mass, increasing the initial lifting height, working in a team, and arranging rest time during the work. However, the outcome has not been optimistic and promising. In this study, a wearable exoskeleton robot was designed and developed to habituate construction workers to the safe postures recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Subjects were tested to measure and analyze their motions and postures while they were performing basic lifting tasks utilizing a full body integration system of Inertia Measurement Units. From the test, it was identified that the actuators of robot effectively constrained worker's body postures within a safe range when the system detects awkward postures from a worker. This demonstrates that the proposed wearable robot can effectively keep workers in safer postures while they are performing construction tasks. Also, the proposed postural training through physical interventions is expected to effectively sustain corrected postural habits for longer periods.
- 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 offer.
- Implementing work zone intrusion alert technologies in a highway construction work zone could help improve the safety of roadway construction and maintenance workers.
- Current work zone intrusion alert technologies should be improved to increase their adaptability.
Fall from heights is one of the most lethal incidents in the construction industry. To mitigate the risk of fall hazards, safety managers need to continuously monitor jobsite conditions to identify potential hazardous situations. While, previous studies develop algorithms to automatically analyze a building to detect fall hazards; their application is limited as the real-time data cannot be collected during the dynamic nature of construction processes. One of the emerging technologies that can address this limitation is an unmanned aerial system (UAS). UASs can provide several advantages for safety managers as they can move faster than humans, reach inaccessible areas of jobsites, and can be equipped with video cameras, wireless sensors, radars, or different communication hardware to transfer real-time data. This research study aims to provide a proof of concept of potential application of UASs in developing an automated aerial system to collect, identify, and assess fall hazards in construction projects. The objective of the study is achieved by collecting real-time video feed of the construction jobsite using UASs, generating point cloud data using image/videogrammetric techniques, and developing an algorithm to process spatial point cloud data to identify fall hazards. The algorithm would ultimately search the point cloud data to detect location of the current guardrails and openings and then checks if they are safety-approved. This paper proposes a workflow for identifying fall hazard using unmanned aerial systems and later will present how some parts of the workflow was implemented and tested in a pilot study.
Wearable robotic devices have been shown to substantially reduce the energy expenditure of human walking. However, response variance between participants for fixed control strategies can be high, leading to the hypothesis that individualized controllers could further improve walking economy. Recent studies on human-in-the-loop (HIL) control optimization have elucidated several practical challenges, such as long experimental protocols and low signal-to-noise ratios. Here, we used Bayesian optimization—an algorithm well suited to optimizing noisy performance signals with very limited data—to identify the peak and offset timing of hip extension assistance that minimizes the energy expenditure of walking with a textile-based wearable device. Optimal peak and offset timing were found over an average of 21.4 ± 1.0 min and reduced metabolic cost by 17.4 ± 3.2% compared with walking without the device (mean ± SEM), which represents an improvement of more than 60% on metabolic reduction compared with state-of-the-art devices that only assist hip extension. In addition, our results provide evidence for participant-specific metabolic distributions with respect to peak and offset timing and metabolic landscapes, lending support to the hypothesis that individualized control strategies can offer substantial benefits over fixed control strategies. These results also suggest that this method could have practical impact on improving the performance of wearable robotic devices.
Workplace hazards, when combined with demanding task, organizational factors, work environments, personal factors, and external factors can produce unacceptable safety risks to field personnel and may lead to severe workplace injuries. Workplace accidents are undesirable; they can cause physical and psychological harm to workers, their families, and the entire community at work. Along with this potential harm, workplace accidents are associated with potential negative economic and noneconomic impacts on quality of work, worker productivity, work schedule, project cost, stakeholder relations, and corporate reputation. To effectively mitigate and control workplace safety risk, a comprehensive risk-mitigation plan should be developed and implemented before workers are exposed to risk. To develop and implement an effective risk mitigation plan, the difference between hazard and risk and the transformation process that a hazard undergoes when combined with other workplace conditions before emerging as a workplace safety risk must be fully comprehended. To facilitate this comprehension, this paper describes the differences between a hazard and safety risk and provides an explanation of the potential impact of internal, external, and project- and organizational-related, factors on the magnitude of the exposed safety risk. Hazard is not synonymous with risk, although hazard severity is a major determinant of the magnitude of exposed safety risk and the safety outcome of an operation primarily relies on the level of worker exposure to the hazard. Similarly, incentives are not tantamount to rewards even though rewards are the end result of incentives. Incentives are motivations associated with future rewards, either extrinsic or intrinsic, that are contingent upon the fulfillment of future conditions determined ahead of time before the start of work operations. The paper is expected to: (1) benefit field practitioners by helping them to increase their understanding of the transformation of a hazard into acceptable or unacceptable safety risk; and (2) provide a summary of the different types of behavioral approaches (e.g., safety incentive programs) that employers can implement to enhance workplace safety and work quality.
This article updates our understanding of the field of job insecurity (JI) by incorporating studies across the globe since 2003, analyzes what we know, and offers ideas on how to move forward. We begin by reviewing the conceptualization and operationalization of job insecurity. We then review empirical studies of the antecedents, consequences, and moderators of JI effects, as well as the various theoretical perspectives used to explain the relationship of JI to various outcomes. Our analyses also consider JI research in different regions of the world, highlighting the cross-cultural differences. We conclude by identifying areas in need of future research. We propose that JI is and will continue to be a predominant employment issue, such that research into it will only increase in importance and relevance. In particular, we call for in-depth research that carefully considers the rapid changes in the workplace today and in the future. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior Volume 5 is January 21, 2018. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
The ability of workers to recognize and manage construction hazards is essential for effective safety management. However, studies have unanimously demonstrated that a large proportion of construction hazards remain unrecognized in dynamic work environments. Such poor hazard recognition levels have been partly attributed to the pervasive use of unengaging and ineffective training practices within construction. To improve training effectiveness, recent efforts have focused on assessing the learning needs of particular workers, and customizing training experiences accordingly to maximize training outcomes. This paper builds upon the previous research by developing an immersive safety training environment that provide a more effective personalized training experience for workers. After development, the degree of realism and immersive experience offered by the training environment was measured and found to be 73% of the real environment. The findings of this study will be useful to practicing professionals seeking to improve training efforts are safety training outcomes.
Presenting significant building or engineering 3D-models is a crucial part of the planning, construction and maintenance phases in terms of collaboration and understanding. Especially in complex or large-scale models, immersion is one of the major key factors for being able to intuitively perceive all aspects of the scene. A fully immersive system needs to give the user a large field-of-view with reduced latency for lifelike impression. Technologies such as VRwalls and shutter glasses can deliver high refresh rates, yet fail to give a large field-of-view. Head-mounted-devices for virtual reality fill this gap. Head tracking mechanisms translate movements of the user’s head into virtual camera movements and enable a natural way of examining models. Unlike a stereoscopic representation with projectors, point-of-view tracking can be achieved separately for each individual user. Hardware costs for such systems were very high in the past, but have dropped due to virtual reality systems now gaining traction in the mainstream gaming community.
In this paper we present a way to build a low-cost, highly immersive virtual reality environment for engineering and construction applications. Furthermore, we present a method to simplify and partly automate the process of reusing digital building models, which are already used in construction, to create virtual scenes, instead of having to do parallel content creation for visualization. Using the Oculus Rift head-mounted display and the Leap Motion hand-tracking device, we show the possibilities of naturally interacting within a virtual space in different use cases. The software, based on the popular game engine Unreal Engine 4, will be used as a basis for further research and development.
Over the past few years, the application of camera-equipped Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for visually monitoring construction and operation of buildings, bridges, and other types of civil infrastructure systems has exponentially grown. These platforms can frequently survey construction sites, monitor work-in-progress, create documents for safety, and inspect existing structures, particularly for hard-to-reach areas. The purpose of this paper is to provide a concise review of the most recent methods that streamline collection, analysis, visualization, and communication of the visual data captured from these platforms, with and without using Building Information Models (BIM) as a priori information. Specifically, the most relevant works from Civil Engineering, Computer Vision, and Robotics communities are presented and compared in terms of their potential to lead to automatic construction monitoring and civil infrastructure condition assessment.
Although the number of fatalities experienced by the U.S. construction industry has been declining, the magnitude of the decrease has stagnated in recent years. Several improvements have been realized in visualizing construction-project information through building information modeling (BIM). One improvement in construction safety can be found in the collection, analysis, and visualization of safety-leading indicator data including near-miss events. Furthermore, the visualization of reported near misses can assist safety managers to identify high-frequency and high-severity events within a construction site for mitigation or hazard removal techniques. The objective of this research is to provide a framework for near-miss data collection and visualization within a BIM platform. A near-miss database was created in a commercially available BIM design software to allow construction-site personnel to report near misses and visualize within an existing BIM. Algorithms were created to enable filtering for visualization based on user input properties of each individual near miss. A feasibility study for the created tool was conducted with an expert review panel of experienced safety managers. Contributions of this research include a near-miss visualization user interface allows construction personnel to view near misses throughout a construction project to identify hazardous areas and frequency of near misses as well as feasibility study data of the created tool.
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 purpose of this paper is to fill the research gap through identifying key factors that predict successful adoption of safety technologies.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 26 key technology adoption predictors were identified and classified using a combination of literature review and an expert panel. The level of influence for each identified safety technology adoption predictor was assessed and ranked using the Relative Importance Index. Analysis of variance was performed as well to assess the potential difference in perceived level of importance for the predictors when the study participants were clustered according to work experience and company size.
Findings
Statistical analysis indicates that 12 out of the 26 predictors identified are highly influential regarding technology adoption decision-making in construction. Technology reliability, effectiveness and durability were ranked as the most influential predictors. The participants who work for small companies and who had less than ten years of experience rated individual- and technology-related predictors significantly lower than the experienced participants working for medium and large companies.
Practical implications
The present study provides construction researchers and practitioners with valuable information regarding safety technology predictors and their magnitude, both of which are essential elements of a successful safety technology adoption process. Improved technology adoption can enhance workplace safety and minimize worker injuries, providing substantial benefits to the construction industry.
Originality/value
This study contributes to technology adoption knowledge by identifying and quantifying the influential predictors of safety technologies in relation to different organizational contexts. The study informs the need to develop an integrated conceptual model for safety technology adoption.
The integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) with real-time data from the Internet of Things (IoT) devices presents a powerful paradigm for applications to improve construction and operational efficiencies. Connecting real-time data streams from the rapidly expanding set of IoT sensor networks to the high-fidelity BIM models provides numerous applications. However, BIM and IoT integration research are still in nascent stages, there is a need to understand the current situation of BIM and IoT device integration. This paper conducts a comprehensive review with the intent to identify common emerging areas of application and common design patterns in the approach to tackling BIM-IoT device integration along with an examination of current limitations and predictions of future research directions. Altogether, 97 papers from 14 AEC related journals and databases in other industry over the last decade were reviewed. Several prevalent domains of application namely Construction Operation and Monitoring, Health & Safety Management, Construction Logistic & Management, and Facility Management were identified. The authors summarized 5 integration methods with description, examples, and discussion. These integration methods are utilizing BIM tools' APIs and relational database, transform BIM data into a relational database using new data schema, create new query language, using semantic web technologies and hybrid approach. Based on the observed limitations, prominent future research directions are suggested, focusing on service-oriented architecture (SOA) patterns and web services-based strategies for BIM and IoT integration, establishing information integration & management standards, solving interoperability issue, and cloud computing.
Non-hard-hat use (NHU) is related to many construction accidents, so NHU inspection is crucial to safety management, in
which automatic NHU monitoring plays an essential role. Existing computer vision–based NHU inspection methods lack capabilities in
identifying workers and helping take real-time action. Previous sensor-based NHU inspection methods require direct skin contact, which
would be uncomfortable for workers. In addition, previous sensor-based methods could be deceived by objects other than human heads and
could not achieve real-time alarms. This study aims to address these problems by implementing real-time alarming, monitoring, and locating
for NHU in construction based on sensor, mobile, web, and cloud techniques. A smart hard-hat system is developed using an Internet of
Things (IoT)-based architecture including (1) a hard hat with an infrared beam detector and thermal infrared sensor for nonintrusive NHU
detection; (2) radio-frequency identification (RFID) triggers for locating NHU with an average detection error of less than 10 cm; (3) a
smartphone application for personalized warnings; (4) a web application for data visualization and alarms for managers; and (5) a cloud
sever for data storage and retrieval. The proposed system enables both workers and managers to take timely actions against NHU. The system
performance is evaluated in a laboratory test and validated in a field application. It is indicated that the proposed system is accurate and
reliable, showing potential to promote safety inspection and supervision in construction.
Monitoring systems based on cameras are crucial for safety management of the high-risk activities common in the complex environment of metro station construction sites, and hence there is a need for a reliable camera network system. However, the number and locations of cameras are currently estimated according to the experience of managers/engineers, and the occlusion effect is rarely considered, resulting in weak coverage of 3D spaces in practice. To address this gap, a novel approach is presented to optimize camera placements for 100% site coverage while considering the occlusion dynamics caused by sidewalls and supports during excavation in metro station projects. A case study of a metro station project is presented to demonstrate and validate the approach, with results showing that the optimized plans for camera placement have larger coverage than the original plan and better performance in safety monitoring and controlling hazards. Optimized in this way, the plans for camera placement can help managers with effective planning and enhanced safety management of metro station construction sites.
There is no doubt that US construction safety records have been improving over the years, yet hundreds of deaths occur annually as a result of jobsite incidents. This continuing injury trend requires further understanding of the causes of safety issues as well as what magnifies safety risk. This study aims to investigate the extent of the impact of different factors on worker safety risk. The factors, namely human, site conditions, psychological, environmental, social, economic, regulatory, ergonomic, and organizational, were developed as part of recently formulated degrees of connectivity (DoC) model scenarios utilizing the risk perception of different specialists. The risk perceptions associated with the factors as provided by construction safety university professors and practicing safety engineers are explored for comparison. The Delphi method was adopted to collect the required data from both mentioned groups. The results show that the participants perceive that site condition factors create the highest impact whereas the worker economic factor adds the lowest impact. No significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of risk perception, nor was there a clear impact of participant experience on the risk perception process and the factors under investigation. Safety planners can benefit from the study results by considering the level of impact that the factors have on worker safety. Moreover, when addressing safety on a project, both professors and engineers can contribute equally.
Civil construction sites are considered as one of the riskiest environments where many potential hazards may occur. To protect construction workers and prevent accidents in such sites, this paper proposes a novel design for an autonomous system that monitors, localizes, and warns site laborers who avail within danger zones. The proposed system is user-friendly, and its architecture is based on Internet of Things (IoT). The heterogeneous components of this architecture are seamlessly integrated into a middleware backend online server. To accurately detect and identify construction workers, the proposed system employs three combined techniques. They are 1) the 868 MHz radio frequency, 2) directional antennas, and 3) the 40 kHz ultrasound waves. Vehicle's rear is secured by a sensing unit that ensures good coverage along with a wearable device for workers. The design of the wearable device includes a set of components which are a radio transceiver (transmitter/receiver), a wake-up sensor, an alarm actuator, and a GPRS module. The wearable device has a power saving scheme with a current consumption as low as 0.5 μA at 3 V supply; thanks to our RF wake-up sensor. Via proximity, this wearable device becomes hybrid (active/passive) in which it remains in deep sleep mode until the presence of a radio frequency (RF) field. Consequently, the rechargeable battery's life gets increased by up to 2 days of autonomy before recharging. Furthermore, the paper presents an implementation of wireless nodes that are powered by light energy using photovoltaic cells. These nodes adopt energy management and storage schemes for continuous operation for indoor and outdoor environments.
Internet of Things (IoT) continues proliferation. Hospitals, energy industry, power grid, food and water, transportation, etc. are critical asset resources. Critical systems must remain steadfast and reliable. This IoT evolution, sometimes termed“, IIoT” or Industrial IoT, is significant for critical infrastructure. In harsh climates, human lives can depend daily on these systems functioning well. Better situational awareness can improve resilience of these critical infrastructures and make them increasingly robust. In this paper, the method of Agile IoT for critical infrastructure resilience is presented, and an Agile IoT model is presented to use signal processing middleware to enable existing sensors commonly deployed in critical infrastructure to be agilely re-purposed to 1) add parallel communication methods and/or 2) sense additional mechanical / physical parameters using existing hardware. The results of the proposed method are applied to use common temperature sensors to detect non-temperature parameters: fluid flow in a pipe (manufacturing or water), ice buildup (transportation or energy infrastructure), and of mechanical door state (health venues of life-saving medicine stored in hospital refrigerators).
Adopting a new technology (exoskeletal vest designed to support overhead work) in the workplace can be challenging since the technology may pose unexpected safety and health consequences. A prototype exoskeletal vest was evaluated for potential unexpected consequences with a set of evaluation tests for: usability (especially, donning & doffing), shoulder range of motion (ROM), postural control, slip & trip risks, and spine loading during overhead work simulations. Donning/doffing the vest was easily done by a wearer alone. The vest reduced the max. shoulder abduction ROM by ∼10%, and increased the mean center of pressure velocity in the anteroposterior direction by ∼12%. However, vest use had minimal influences on trip-/slip-related fall risks during level walking, and significantly reduced spine loadings (up to ∼30%) especially during the drilling task. Use of an exoskeletal vest can be beneficial, yet the current evaluation tests should be expanded for more comprehensiveness, to enable the safe adoption of the technology.
Highway construction has consistently reported relatively high fatality rates largely because of the considerable exposure of workers to live traffic. To address this anomaly, traffic control planners are tasked with making decisions geared toward reducing hazardous situations caused by transiting vehicles and construction equipment. The growing application of technologies to enhance worker safety should be considered during the traffic control planning process. In certain cases, decisions such as choosing among technology options are made using experiential individual knowledge without the application of scientific and systematic decision-making methods. Use of experience-based decision making in this context is largely the result of sparse literature on scientific methods of selecting between alternatives in highway construction work zones. By applying the Choosing by Advantages (CBA) decision-making method, a process that achieves sound and effective decisions, the current study aims to fill the gap in practice by proposing a decision-making framework that could enhance the value-cost selection process of safety technologies in highway construction work zones. A situation that applied work zone intrusion alert technologies (WZIATs) was selected as a case study. Using a focus group session and case projects as an evaluation study process, the proposed framework based on the CBA decision-making process was applied to evaluate three WZIATs. Findings from the current study will benefit safety professionals and practitioners by providing a step-by-step approach to make sound decisions that can enhance the level of safety in highway construction work zones.
Objective:
To gather information on the (a) types of wearable sensors, particularly personal activity monitors, currently used by occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals; (b) potential benefits of using such technologies in the workplace; and (c) perceived barriers preventing the widespread adoption of wearable sensors in industry.
Background:
Wearable sensors are increasingly being promoted as a means to improve employee health and well-being, and there is mounting evidence supporting their use as exposure assessment and personal health tools. Despite this, many workplaces have been hesitant to adopt these technologies.
Methods:
An electronic survey was emailed to 28,428 registered members of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and 1,302 professionals certified by the Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics (BCPE).
Results:
A total of 952 valid responses were returned. Over half of respondents described being in favor of using wearable sensors to track OSH-related risk factors and relevant exposure metrics at their respective workplaces. However,