Key Findings from Research: Ethical and Social Risks of Using Exoskeletons in Construction

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ogunseiju, Omobolanle ; Cho, Yong Kwon ; Tomori, Mariam ; Rudraraju, Likith
• Corporate Authors:
  CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training
• Description:
  Exoskeletons are used increasingly within the construction industry to help workers regularly exposed to physically demanding and repetitive activities. While previous studies have examined the health and safety risks of exoskeletons in construction, there is a significant gap in the literature regarding their ethical and social risks. This study addresses that gap by investigating ethical risks related to issues such as design, autonomy, discrimination, and privacy, as well as social risks that include affordability, unauthorized access, dependency, and social identity. The study both identified these risks and explored how exoskeletons can be designed to minimize them. The researchers used a mixed-method research design of a Delphi study (with three rounds of surveys of construction practitioners and researchers), literature reviews, and focus groups. Based on their findings, they also developed a practical guide to aid the ethical implementation of exoskeletons so workers are better protected. Read the report: https://bit.ly/4d9IGTB. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Construction
  • Exoskeleton Device
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
• Keywords:
  • Construction workers
  • Exoskeletons
  • Risk factors
  • Design standards
  • Ethics
  • Emerging technology
• Series:
  CPWR - Center for Construction Research and Training Publications
• Subseries:
  Key Findings from Research
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract
• Place as Subject:
  Atlanta Region OSHA ; Georgia ; Maryland ; Philadelphia Region OSHA
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1 pdf page
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071800
• Citation:
  Key findings from research. Silver Spring, MD: CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training, 2025 May; :1
• Email:
  omobolanle@gatech.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  2009/09/01
• End Date:
  2024/08/31
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/260024/cdc_260024_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 42.04 KB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b478e5a5684a1d9e884e792f6082919fa2bf71329b47f731374edef07bba3ba62e38180dee3cc8cbf3533521662baf0be5b69c3b47c2a2ef3e29785618cccf6a