A scientometric analysis and review of fall from height research in construction

Fall from height (FFH) in the construction industry has earned much attention among researchers in recent years. The present review-based study introduced a science mapping approach to evaluate the FFH studies related to the construction industry. This study, through an extensive bibliometric and scientometric assessment, recognized the most active journals, keywords and the nations in the field of FFH studies since 2000. Analysis of the authors’ keywords revealed the emerging research topics in the FFH research community. Recent studies have been discovered to pay more attention to the application of Computer and Information Technology (CIT) tools, particularly building information modelling (BIM) in research related to FFH. Other emerging research areas in the domain of FFH include rule checking, and prevention through design. The findings summarized the mainstream research areas (e.g., safety management program), discussed existing research gaps in FFH domain (e.g., the adaptability of safety management system), and suggests future directions in FFH research. The recommended future directions could contribute to improving safety for the FFH research community by evaluating existing fall prevention programs in different contexts; integrating multiple CIT tools in the entire project lifecycle; designing fall safety courses to workers associated with temporary agents and prototype safety knowledge tool development. The current study was restricted to the FFH literature sample included the journal articles published only in English and in Scopus

Appraisal of Thermal Comfort in Non-Air-conditioned and Air-conditioned Railway Pantry Car Kitchens

This study details the consequences of a thermal comfort survey conducted in N-AC “Non-Airconditioned†and AC “Airconditioned†pantry car kitchens in Indian Railways. The research was carried out on 6 railway pantry car kitchens in which 29 chefs participated. Field measurement and subjective evaluation techniques performed in this study during the working period of chefs. The aim of the present research to compare N-AC and AC railway pantry car kitchen. While the objective of the study to determine the thermal comfort parameters “air temperature, mean radiant temperature, relative humidity and air velocity†of both pantry car kitchens and examine the subjective responses; and to evaluate the thermal comfort of both pantry car kitchens using the PMV “Predicted Mean Vote†and PPD “Predicted Percent Dissatisfied†indices and compare them with actual sensation votes. A result of this study revealed that all thermal comfort parameters do not comply with the recommended ASHRAE 55 Standard in both pantry car kitchens. There is no considerable difference between both pantry car kitchen based on the subjective assessment during the working period and all the chefs' votes were found to be outside the range of the ASHRAE 55 central three categories (-1, 0, +1) votes. Which indicates that the chefs are not satisfied with the current environment. While for N-AC pantry car, PMV and PPD value estimated were 3.10 and 99% respectively, with "hot" thermal sensation. Similarly, for AC pantry car, PMV and PPD value estimated were 2.21 and 85% respectively, with "warm" thermal sensation. The estimated values of PMV and PPD do not follow the ASHRAE-55 2017 and ISO 7730 standard. Therefore, PMV indices are not directly applicable for thermal comfort application in a pantry car kitchen environment due to high temperature. In both the pantry car kitchen, there is no difference between predicted and actual sensation votes. In further establish the other method and technique to identify the comfort temperature for better workmanship of chefs in a pantry car kitchen.   &nbsp

Analysing roadblocks of industry 4.0 adoption using graph theory and matrix approach

The manufacturing era is going through an evolutionary phase from Industry 3.0 to Industry 4.0 (I4.0). In 2011, Germany initiated I4.0 during the Hanover fair in collaboration with industrialists, academicians and researchers. The benefits of implementing I4.0 are attracting the curiosity of practitioners. In current academic literature, there is little discussion related to analysing potential roadblocks of I4.0 implementation using mathematical modelling. This paper has identified roadblocks through an extensive literature review and validation has been carried out by gathering experts’ opinions. As per the findings, the identified roadblocks have been categorized into five sections: management roadblocks, operational roadblocks, human resource roadblocks, procedural and behavioural roadblocks. A case study of the automobile industry has been discussed. The data was collected from experts in the area of I4.0. A Graph Theory and Matrix Approach (GTMA) was applied to evaluate the relative intensity of the roadblocks, Comprehensive I4.0 Index (CII) and its range for each category of roadblock. Implications for industrialists, practitioners and academicians are provided

Relationship of duration of work exposure and feeling of subjective fatigue: A case study on jewelry manufacturing workers in India

Aims: Fatigue can be defined in various conditions. In literature it has been defined and explored by various researches through different aspects. This study was conducted to establish the relationship between the duration of work exposure and feeling of subjective fatigue. Materials and Methods: Twenty-one jewelry manufacturing workers as study group and 27 students as control group participated with their signed informed consent. The daily diary method and feeling of subjective fatigue evaluation questionnaire were used as a tool in this study. Three categories of feeling of subjective fatigue were considered in this study. The study was conducted mainly in the middle of the week. The data regarding feeling of subjective fatigue were collected before starting of work and after completion of the work day. Results: The results showed that The time spent on the job by the workers engaged in jewelry manufacturing was 670 min and were in four slots with the longest work period being 240 min. Sleeping time was found to be around 480 min. Conclusion: The study revealed that all three dimensions (general, mental, and physical) were affected by the whole day work exposure. Among three types of fatigues, general fatigue was observed at the beginning and end of the work shift

Understanding the fall-related safety issues in concrete formwork

The construction industry recorded high rates of fatalities and injuries due to falls at the workplace. Among other activities, concrete formwork tends to have more fatal falls. This study aims to understand the fall-related safety issues in the formwork lifecycle of construction projects. To achieve this, the process of formwork activities was mapped, and the safety risks associated with each activity were classified. Method development and risk identification focused on interviews with construction professionals involved in the construction of formwork and site observations of the formwork activities. The overall finding was that pouring, stripping, and erection activities have more issues related to falls. Future research is being carried out to assess the risks of falls from the construction experts’ views to prevent fall accidents in the future