Investigating the impact of emerging technologies on construction safety performance


Dobrucali E., Demirkesen S., Sadikoglu E., Zhang C., Damcı A.

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol.31, no.3, pp.1322-1347, 2024 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 31 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 2024
  • Doi Number: 10.1108/ecam-07-2022-0668
  • Journal Name: Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, ABI/INFORM, Aerospace Database, Business Source Elite, Business Source Premier, Communication Abstracts, ICONDA Bibliographic, Index Islamicus, INSPEC, Metadex, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.1322-1347
  • Keywords: Emerging technologies, Safety, Construction industry, Safety performance, GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION-SYSTEMS, CONFIRMATORY FACTOR-ANALYSIS, VIRTUAL-REALITY, AUGMENTED REALITY, INDUSTRY 4.0, MANAGEMENT, DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION, ACCIDENTS, KNOWLEDGE
  • Kocaeli University Affiliated: No

Abstract

© 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.Purpose: Construction safety is heavily affected by using new technologies in this growing trend of technology adoption. Especially, safety performance is enhanced through the utilization of some effective technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, BIM and wearable devices. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of emerging technologies on construction safety performance and quantify the relationship between those. The proposed components of emerging technologies are BIM, GIS, VR, RFID, AI, ML, eye tracking and serious games and wearable devices, whereas the dimensions of construction safety performance are safety planning, safety training, safety inspection and monitoring, safety audits and reviews and safety leadership. Design/methodology/approach: A structural model was composed consisting of emerging technologies and safety performance indicators. Then, a questionnaire was designed and administered to construction professionals, and data from 167 projects were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The data were analyzed by using software, called SPSS AMOS. Findings: The analysis of the structural model proves that there is a positive and significant relationship between emerging technologies and construction safety performance. Moreover, the factor loadings for each factor were found to be high indicating a good representation of the construct by the components developed. Among the technologies, BIM, robotics and automation, AI and wearable devices were detected to be the most significant technologies in terms of impacting safety performance. Originality/value: The study contributes to the body of knowledge in that it develops a conceptual framework consisting of specific technologies in terms of emerging technologies, reveals the impact of such technologies on safety performance and proposes several tools and strategies for enabling effective safety management along the project lifecycle. Industry practitioners may benefit from the framework developed by adopting such technologies to enhance their safety performance on construction projects.