A systematic review of the application of immersive technologies for safety and health management in the construction sector

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

Slides – Akinloluwa Babalola – Open Research Conference 2024

Slides used by Akinloluwa Babalola for the University of Manchester Open Research Conference 2024.Title: Building a Smart Guide for Open Research: A Decision Tree Toolkit for Engineering Postgraduate Research StudentsAbstract: Open research practices are important for enhancing the transparency, reliability, and visibility of research. Yet, many engineering postgraduate research students find themselves either unaware of or unable to incorporate these practices into their studies. Recognising this gap, an internal open research grant has been secured to build an innovative decision tree toolkit. In collaboration with Michael Stevenson in the office for open research at the University of Manchester and Matt Parkman who is an IT specialist, the decision tree has integrated with an online platform, designed to guide students through the complexities of integrating open research into their work, thereby promoting scientific advancement.The online decision tree toolkit offers a clear, step-by-step guide for students to publicly share their research findings, engage with open data, and utilise open-source software tools essential for pushing the boundaries of scientific inquiry. It is crafted to break down the barriers that have previously deterred students from adopting open research practices, providing them with the actionable guidance needed to share their data, methodologies, and findings openly. Such transparency not only enhances the reproducibility of research but also cultivates a collaborative scientific community where information and ideas are freely exchanged.Following the trial phase, the open research team plans to extensively promote this online tool to a broader student audience. Therefore, the tool would further improve awareness among engineering postgraduate research students regarding the crucial role of openness in research. In essence, this toolkit is more than just a resource; it is a catalyst for transforming engineering postgraduate research students into proponents of a transparent, reproducible, and open research ecosystem

Video - Akinloluwa Babalola - Open Research Conference 2024 (Subtitled)

Building a Smart Guide for Open Research: A Decision Tree Toolkit for Engineering Postgraduate Research Students Open research practices are important for enhancing the transparency, reliability, and visibility of research. Yet, many engineering postgraduate research students find themselves either unaware of or unable to incorporate these practices into their studies. Recognising this gap, an internal open research grant has been secured to build an innovative decision tree toolkit. In collaboration with Michael Stevenson in the Office for Open Research at the University of Manchester and Matt Parkman who is an IT specialist, the decision tree has integrated with an online platform, designed to guide students through the complexities of integrating open research into their work, thereby promoting scientific advancement. The online decision tree toolkit offers a clear, step-by-step guide for students to publicly share their research findings, engage with open data, and utilise open-source software tools essential for pushing the boundaries of scientific inquiry. It is crafted to break down the barriers that have previously deterred students from adopting open research practices, providing them with the actionable guidance needed to share their data, methodologies, and findings openly. Such transparency not only enhances the reproducibility of research but also cultivates a collaborative scientific community where information and ideas are freely exchanged. Following the trial phase, the open research team plans to extensively promote this online tool to a broader student audience. Therefore, the tool would further improve awareness among engineering postgraduate research students regarding the crucial role of openness in research. In essence, this toolkit is more than just a resource; it is a catalyst for transforming engineering postgraduate research students into proponents of a transparent, reproducible, and open research ecosystem

A Conceptual Framework for the Safety Training of Engineering Laboratory Students in Tertiary Institutions

Ensuring the safety of students conducting laboratory activities is of paramount importance to the engineering programmes delivered at higher educational institutions (HEIs). However, the traditional methods of education have limitations in terms of costs and repeatability when addressing the safety challenges experienced by students in engineering laboratories. Meanwhile, studies have shown that immersive technologies (ImTs) can be very useful in addressing the limitations of the traditional methods of safety training and education. This study therefore proposes a conceptual framework for the development of an ImT-based safety training tool for educating students who use engineering laboratories. The proposed framework is developed based on the review of relevant literature in the domain. Furthermore, the framework describes the development of the ImT-based safety training tool with the support of a training content on the predominant safety issues within such laboratories, including the relevant hardware and software tools required for its implementation. Hence, the proposed framework aims to consolidate the awareness of engineering laboratory students on the prevalent safety issues in the laboratory and how to address them, while also providing a basis for future studies to examine its performance

Applications of immersive technologies for occupational safety and health training and education: A systematic review

Immersive technologies (ImTs) have emerged as a viable pathway to address poor occupational safety and health (OSH) performance through training and education of workers. This study aimed to gain a holistic view of the applications of ImTs for OSH training and education. A review on the application of ImTs for OSH training and education is conducted using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) approach and bibliometric analysis. This resulted in the evaluation of 67 relevant journal articles collected from Scopus, Web of Science, and Engineering Village. The review revealed that ImTs have been applied for OSH training and education in various industries including transportation, construction, mining, and healthcare. It was also revealed that the OSH hazards addressed by ImT-based training and education include but are not limited to fire, fall, electrical and chemical hazards in order to prevent or reduce injuries, illnesses and fatalities. In addition, it was revealed that one of the benefits of ImTs for OSH training and education is better retention of concepts when compared to conventional training and education. Challenges associated with the use of ImTs for OSH training and education include insufficient display brightness for users to effectively see virtual objects in a brightly luminated environment. Among the recommendations for future work is research into how to develop effective communication methods between trainers and trainees immersed in a virtual environment for trainers to fully understand the difficulties trainees experience in operating the developed ImT-based platform and provide solutions to such difficulties

A Systematic Review of the Application of Immersive Technologies for Safety and Health Management in the Construction Sector

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

A Conceptual Framework and Tools Characteristics for Developing an Immersive Technology-Based Occupational Health Training Mechanism

Training and education are crucial in tackling occupational safety and health risks, such as manual handling for construction workers as they help workers identify and handle hazards. Concurrently, integrating immersive technologies (ImTs) in training and education has shown promising results in enhancing how construction workers approach manual handling, consequently diminishing the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. However, there is a noticeable gap in research, with limited studies focusing on creating an ImT-based tool to train construction workers on manual handling. Furthermore, the variations between numerous ImT-based software and hardware make it challenging to adequately determine whether an optimum solution will be achieved when developing such platforms. To address this gap, this study applies design science research methodology in providing insights into the development of an ImT-based training tool specifically tailored for construction workers and to describe the characteristics of prominent software tools that are integrated through a conceptual framework. It is intended that an improvement in the proficiency of construction workers in addressing manual handling challenges is achieved. However, challenges to applying the tool could include users experiencing simulation sicknesses