Assessing Construction Near-Miss Detection Proficiency for Workers Under Stressor Conditions Using Psychophysiological Measures: An Eye-Tracking Investigation

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-1-2025

Abstract

Featured Application: This research falls within the scope of safety sciences, specifically contributing to the field of construction safety. The primary focus of this study is to enhance construction workplace safety through the evaluation of individual psychophysiological parameters. These parameters, when thoroughly examined, have the potential to benefit multiple stakeholders in the construction industry, both during and after the hiring and safety training stages. Findings from this study will provide valuable insights into how workplace stressors can impair workers’ near-miss detection capabilities and safety behavior within the construction enterprise. Despite the introduction of preventive safety measures, such as near-miss reporting, to mitigate accidents and minimize fatalities, construction workers are constantly exposed to stressful situations that negatively affect their safety behavior and reporting efficiency. Occupational stress is induced by various factors, with mental stress and auditory stress being common workplace stressors that impact workers on the job site. While previous studies have demonstrated the effect of stressor conditions on workers’ hazard recognition and safety performance, research gaps persist regarding the direct impact of workplace stressors on workers’ stress levels and near-miss recognition performance. This study investigates workers’ near-miss recognition ability through an eye-tracking experiment conducted in a controlled environment under mental and auditory stress conditions. The findings from this study reveal that workplace stressors triggered by mental and auditory stress can adversely affect worker stress levels, safety behavior, and cognitive processing toward near-miss recognition. Visual attention towards near-miss scenarios was reduced by 26% for mental stress conditions and by 46% for auditory stress conditions compared to baseline. The results may potentially open avenues for developing wearable stress prediction and safety intervention models using bio-sensing technology and personalized safety training programs tailored to individuals with low identification abilities.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Applied Sciences Switzerland

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