Assessing the Application of Smart Wearable Technologies for Construction Health and Safety in Nigeria

Abstract

Construction health and safety is crucial to effective project delivery. Unfortunately, despite stakeholders’ effort to improve this on sites, the rate of construction hazards and low productivity are still on the increase. The study delves into the applicable areas of smart wearable technologies for construction health and safety in Nigeria. Data for the study were gathered via a well-structured questionnaire through purposive sampling administered to stakeholders working directly on a sample of forty-three (43) ongoing commercial construction projects in Lagos state, Nigeria. The respondents include project managers, project supervisors, site managers, and health and safety officers, and the data obtained were analyzed using Descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis test with results presented in tables. The findings revealed that the devices most common applicable areas are in the tracking and monitoring the location of workers and object within the site and also given full information of the activities on site coupled with the aspect of Fall from height, slips and trips which deals with monitoring of body posture, speed, rotation, among others. The study suggested that to protect the construction industry from all dangers, the use of these devices should be expanded to other aspects of construction activities so as to achieve best safety and productivity standard on sites.