Improved construction safety: An analysis of real-time physiological data through innovative 'Smart' safety vests

The development of systems to monitor the physiological parameters of construction workers to generate early warnings has the potential to improve health and safety significantly in the globally dangerous construction industry. The aims of the recently-formed CIB task group on wearable sensor technology evidence the need for research and innovation in wearable technologies in construction, which lags in technology adoption compared to other industries. An innovative approach using wearable technology and e-textiles to monitor the physiological parameters of construction workers in real time is proposed to improve health and safety. The technological feasibility of the proposed system was validated using a system implementation. This paper reports the fully functioning system and its components. The proposed systematic mechanism to validate the usability of the system on a real construction site is also discussed. It reports the planned process to test the smart vest system on a construction site and to capture real-time physiological parameters. An anticipated outcome of the research project is a significant contribution to the use of wearable sensor technology in the inherently dangerous construction industry to achieve improved safety performance.