Improving Construction Work Zone Safety Using Technology: A Systematic Review of Applicable Technologies

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gambatese, John ; Lee HW ; Nnaji, Chukwuma ; Zhang F
• Description:
  Once considered conventional, the construction industry is gradually increasing its reliance on innovations such as the application of technologies in safety management. Given the growing literature on technology applications in safety management and the varying opinions on the utility of applied technologies, a systematic review that streamlines findings from past studies is indispensable to construction stakeholders. Although a number of review studies are available in the building construction sector, the level of fragmentation and uniqueness within the construction industry necessitates a review study specifically targeting the heavy civil sector. In response, the present study applies a three-step approach to identify and review articles pertinent to the safety of highway construction work zones. The factors considered include the number of publications per year, publication locations, and technology types. In addition, the present study proposes to broadly group work zone safety technologies (WZSTs) into three categories based on their primary purpose: speed reduction systems, intrusion prevention and warning systems, and human-machine-interaction detection systems. Key findings include WZST research trends, application of smart work zone systems, and the potential relationship between WZSTs and fatalities. The paper ends with the identification of six additional research areas aimed at deepening the understanding of technology's role in highway safety management. The trend analysis and an in-depth discussion of each technology category alongside the identified research gaps will provide a substantial informative body of knowledge that both benefits current practitioners and directs researchers towards potential future studies. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Occupational Health Safety Transportation
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Transportation Construction Industry Emerging Technology Highway Work Zones Road Construction Safety Measures Safety Technology Systematic Review Systematic Reviews Technology Application Warning Systems Worker Safety Work Zone

  More +
• ISSN:
  2095-7564
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Alabama ; Maryland ; Mississippi ; Oregon ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  61-75
• Volume:
  7
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068446
• Citation:
  J Traffic Transp Eng 2020 Feb; 7(1):61-75
• Contact Point Address:
  Chukwuma Nnaji, Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA
• Email:
  cnnaji@eng.ua.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Performing Organization:
  CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20090901
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering
• End Date:
  20240831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:bf73b382eece0ee282c47aed4d36d3d0cfa8f0bd1a0e5ad157823ce35170ece76136230a96c10747cb53caf1852f44c667be5b2f085770f2fad00e962e99c699
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/230599/cdc_230599_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.21 MB ]