TY - JOUR
T1 - A Systematic Review of the Application of Immersive Technologies for Safety and Health Management in the Construction Sector
AU - Babalola, Akinloluwa
AU - Manu, Patrick
AU - Cheung, Clara
AU - Yunusa-Kaltungo, Akilu
AU - Da Silva Bartolo, Paulo Jorge
N1 - Funding Information:
Dr Akilu Yunusa-Kaltungo is a Senior Lecturer in Reliability and Maintenance Engineering in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering (MACE), The University of Manchester (UoM). He has research expertise in operational reliability, safety and health management, industrial maintenance and asset management. He has served as the principal investigator for projects funded by Lloyds Register Foundation (LRF), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Innovate UK. He has published over 70 technical articles (peer-reviewed top quartile journals and conference articles) with internationally reputable publishers. He is currently a member of several industrial and academic committees and working groups including Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) Safety & Reliability Working Group (SRWG) and British Standards Institute (BSI).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s)
PY - 2023/6/1
Y1 - 2023/6/1
N2 - Introduction: The construction industry employs about 7% of global manpower and contributes about 6% to the global economy. However, statistics have depicted that the construction industry contributes significantly to workplace fatalities and injuries despite multiple interventions (including technological applications) implemented by governments and construction companies. Recently, immersive technologies as part of a suite of industry 4.0 technologies, have also strongly emerged as a viable pathway to help address poor construction occupational safety and health (OSH) performance. Method: With the aim of gaining a broad view of different construction OSH issues addressed using immersive technologies, a review on the application of immersive technologies for construction OSH management is conducted using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) approach and bibliometric analysis of literature. This resulted in the evaluation of 117 relevant papers collected from three online databases (Scopus, Web of Science, and Engineering Village). Results: The review revealed that literature have focused on the application of various immersive technologies for hazard identification and visualization, safety training, design for safety, risk perception, and assessment in various construction works. The review identified several limitations regarding the use of immersive technologies, which include the low level of adoption of the developed immersive technologies for OSH management by the construction industry, very limited research on the application of immersive technologies for health hazards, and limited focus on the comparison of the effectiveness of various immersive technologies for construction OSH management. Conclusions and Practical Applications: For future research, it is recommended to identify possible reasons for the low transition level from research to industry practice and proffer solutions to the identified issues. Another recommendation is the study of the effectiveness of the use of immersive technologies for addressing health hazards in comparison to the conventional methods.
AB - Introduction: The construction industry employs about 7% of global manpower and contributes about 6% to the global economy. However, statistics have depicted that the construction industry contributes significantly to workplace fatalities and injuries despite multiple interventions (including technological applications) implemented by governments and construction companies. Recently, immersive technologies as part of a suite of industry 4.0 technologies, have also strongly emerged as a viable pathway to help address poor construction occupational safety and health (OSH) performance. Method: With the aim of gaining a broad view of different construction OSH issues addressed using immersive technologies, a review on the application of immersive technologies for construction OSH management is conducted using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) approach and bibliometric analysis of literature. This resulted in the evaluation of 117 relevant papers collected from three online databases (Scopus, Web of Science, and Engineering Village). Results: The review revealed that literature have focused on the application of various immersive technologies for hazard identification and visualization, safety training, design for safety, risk perception, and assessment in various construction works. The review identified several limitations regarding the use of immersive technologies, which include the low level of adoption of the developed immersive technologies for OSH management by the construction industry, very limited research on the application of immersive technologies for health hazards, and limited focus on the comparison of the effectiveness of various immersive technologies for construction OSH management. Conclusions and Practical Applications: For future research, it is recommended to identify possible reasons for the low transition level from research to industry practice and proffer solutions to the identified issues. Another recommendation is the study of the effectiveness of the use of immersive technologies for addressing health hazards in comparison to the conventional methods.
KW - Augmented reality
KW - Health and safety
KW - Immersive technologies
KW - Mixed reality
KW - Virtual reality
U2 - 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.01.007
DO - 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.01.007
M3 - Article
SN - 0022-4375
VL - 85
SP - 66
EP - 85
JO - Journal of Safety Research
JF - Journal of Safety Research
ER -
