Effects of Physical Fatigue on Construction Workers’ Visual Search Patterns during Hazard Identification
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 150, Issue 9
Abstract
Physical fatigue is a frequent factor in construction workplaces that threatens workers’ safety. This study examines whether fatigue alters visual search patterns adopted by workers during hazard identification, thereby affecting identification performance. Subjects () were exposed to four physical activity levels (nonfatigue, low fatigue, medium fatigue, and high fatigue) and then performed hazard identification tasks in a panoramic virtual reality context, with their search patterns being reflected by eye-movement metrics. The results show that physical fatigue significantly impacted the visual search patterns, with workers allocating less attention to hazardous areas and being less engaged in searching. These visual characteristics correspond to poorer hazard identification accuracy. Further, the degree of influence increased with fatigue levels. The findings could extend the knowledge of the relationship between physical fatigue and safety. They could also uncover the reasons inherent in workers’ inability to identify hazards due to physical fatigue, which could provide insight for the industry to cope with the disruptions to safety posed by physical fatigue.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The National Natural Science Foundation of China PJ#52178305 and City University of Hong Kong Teaching Development Grant No. 6000770 jointly supported this work. The conclusions herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsoring agencies.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 150 • Issue 9 • September 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 20, 2023
Accepted: Feb 5, 2024
Published online: Jul 15, 2024
Published in print: Sep 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Dec 15, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Business management
- Disaster risk management
- Disasters and hazards
- Employment
- Engineering mechanics
- Fatigue (material)
- Labor
- Material mechanics
- Material properties
- Materials engineering
- Occupational safety
- Personnel management
- Practice and Profession
- Public administration
- Public health and safety
- Risk management
- Safety
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