Open AccessOverview and Analysis of Digital Technologies Designed for Construction Safety Management
Author(s) -
Brian H.W. Guo,
Eric Scheepbouwer,
Tak Wing Yiu,
Vicente A. González
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
epic series in education science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Conference proceedings
ISSN - 2516-2306
DOI - 10.29007/zvfp
Subject(s) - building information modeling , digital transformation , computer science , engineering , engineering management , knowledge management , systems engineering , risk analysis (engineering) , world wide web , medicine , compatibility (geochemistry) , chemical engineering
Digital technologies are increasingly used to support safety management in the construction industry. Previous efforts were made to identify digital technologies for safety in the construction industry. However, limited research has been done to conceptualize the roles played by digital technologies in safety management and accident prevention. This paper surveys state-of-the-art research between 2000 and 2016 in order to categorize digital technologies for construction safety, identify research trend, and analyse their roles in accident prevention. The research employs a systematic process to review the existing literature on digital technologies in the area of construction safety. Five academic databases, Science Direct, Taylor & Francis, the ASCE Library, Engineering village, and Web of Science, were selected for the survey due to the comprehensive coverage of relevant academic papers. The survey identified 15 digital technologies: real-time location system and proximity warning, building information modelling, augmented reality, virtual reality, game technology, e-safety-management-system, case-based reasoning, rule-based reasoning, motion sensor, action/object recognition, laser scanning, physiological status monitoring, virtual prototyping, geographical information system, and ubiquitous sensor network. Three emerging safety functions claimed and/or promoted by DTs were discussed: enhanced safety planning, real-time hazard management, and safety knowledge engineering. It is concluded that DTs have great potential to improve safety performance by engineering resilience and adaptiveness at the individual level, while how DTs embody safety values and how safety values in turn influence the adoption of DTs remain an open question.