Impact of Cognitive Fatigue on Attention and the Implications for Construction Safety: A Neuroscientific Perspective
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 150, Issue 8
Abstract
The global concern over fatigue in construction professionals, leading to diminished attention, unsafe behaviors, and even accidents, has escalated. Existing research on the impact of fatigue on attention has predominantly focused on qualitative behavioral aspects, relying extensively on self-reported measures and subjective assessments, resulting in interpretations with strong subjectivity and occasionally inconsistent findings. This study bridges this gap by adopting a neural perspective, utilizing a comprehensive quantitative measurement approach that integrates EEG (electroencephalograms), behavioral tests, and subjective rating scales. This interdisciplinary approach attempts to explore the neural mechanisms underlying the impact of fatigue on the attention of construction professionals, considering the regulatory effects of effort. Twenty participants from the construction sector were enlisted to undertake a 60-min Oddball cognitive task. The results indicate that as cognitive fatigue intensifies, the pattern of attention decline exhibits a slow-fast-slow trajectory. Initially, the dominance of effort is observed, which transitions to a stage where resource consumption takes precedence. In the later stage, participants tend to prioritize expediency over accuracy. The study synthesizes these outcomes to delve into the neural mechanisms of fatigue’s impact on attention, addressing the distinct phases, underlying mechanisms, and functions of attention. Moreover, it provides actionable recommendations to elevate attention levels and enhance safety in the construction industry, serving as a valuable guide for practical applications and further research in construction safety management.
Practical Applications
This study underscores the effect of cognitive fatigue on the attention of construction professionals, directly impacting on-site safety. With increasing fatigue, the attentiveness and response precision of these professionals diminish, escalating accident risks. Implementing practical measures such as work schedule optimization, regular breaks, and fatigue monitoring through technology can bolster safety. Additionally, site managers might consider task rotation and focus on cognitive resource management during training. These strategies are designed to enhance both safety and productivity by prioritizing the cognitive well-being of construction professionals, guiding companies in establishing more effective safety protocols in the workplace.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data generated or analyzed during the study are available from the corresponding author by request.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71972020); the National Social Science Fund of China (Grant No. 22AZD099); the Graduate Scientific Research and Innovation Foundation of Chongqing, China (CYS21036); and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 2020CDJK03ZH04).
References
Akerstedt, T., and M. Gillberg. 1990. “Subjective and objective sleepiness in the active individual.” Int. J. Neurosci. 52 (Jun): 29–37.
Artis, D. A. Z. 2015. Women as leaders in construction in a northwestern US city: A multiple-case study of the effectiveness of motivation practices and success strategies. Minneapolis: Capella Univ.
Boksem, M. A. S., T. F. Meijman, and M. M. Lorist. 2005. “Effects of mental fatigue on attention: An ERP study.” Cognitive Brain Res. 25 (1): 107–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogbrainres.2005.04.011.
Bonnefond, A., N. Doignon-Camus, P. Touzalin-Chretien, and A. Dufour. 2010. “Vigilance and intrinsic maintenance of alert state: An ERP study.” Behav. Brain Res. 211 (2): 185–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2010.03.030.
Chen, J., R. Q. Wang, Z. Lin, and X. Guo. 2018. “Measuring the cognitive loads of construction safety sign designs during selective and sustained attention.” Saf. Sci. 105 (Feb): 9–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2018.01.020.
Csatho, A., D. van der Linden, I. Hernadi, P. Buzas, and G. Kalmar. 2012. “Effects of mental fatigue on the capacity limits of visual attention.” J. Cognit. Psychol. 24 (Sep): 511–524.
Delorme, A., and S. Makeig. 2004. “EEGLAB: An open source toolbox for analysis of single-trial EEG dynamics including independent component analysis.” J. Neurosci. Methods 134 (1): 9–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneumeth.2003.10.009.
Duncan, C. C., R. J. Barry, J. F. Connolly, C. Fischer, P. T. Michie, R. Naatanen, J. Polich, I. Reinvang, and C. Van Petten. 2009. “Event-related potentials in clinical research: Guidelines for eliciting, recording, and quantifying mismatch negativity, P300, and N400.” Clin. Neurophysiol. 120 (11): 1883–1908. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2009.07.045.
Egeth, H. 1975. “Attention and effort.” Am. J. Psychol. 88 (2): 339–340. https://doi.org/10.2307/1421603.
Endsley, M. R. 1995. “Toward a theory of situation awareness in dynamic-systems.” Hum. Factors 37 (1): 32–64. https://doi.org/10.1518/001872095779049543.
Faber, L. G., N. M. Maurits, and M. M. Lorist. 2012. “Mental fatigue affects visual selective attention.” PLoS One 7 (10): e48073. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0048073.
Fang, D. P., Z. M. Jiang, M. Z. Zhang, and H. Wang. 2015. “An experimental method to study the effect of fatigue on construction workers’ safety performance.” Saf. Sci. 73 (Apr): 80–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2014.11.019.
Fu, H., G. Ye, J. Chen, and P. C. Liao. 2022. “Editorial: Human decision-making behaviors in engineering and management: A neuropsychological perspective.” Front. Neurosci. 16 (Nov): 1062171. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.1062171.
Gergelyfi, M., B. Jacob, E. Olivier, and A. Zenon. 2015. “Dissociation between mental fatigue and motivational state during prolonged mental activity.” Front. Behav. Neurosci. 9 (Jul): 176.
Gomes, H., S. Molholm, C. Christodoulou, W. Ritter, and N. Cowan. 2000. “The development of auditory attention in children.” Front. Biosci. Landmark 5 (1): D108–D120. https://doi.org/10.2741/Gomes.
Grandjean, E. 1979. “Fatigue in industry.” Occup Environ Med. 36 (Mar): 175–186.
Guo, Z. Z., R. Y. Chen, K. Zhang, Y. R. Pan, and J. H. Wu. 2016. “The impairing effect of mental fatigue on visual sustained attention under monotonous multi-object visual attention task in long durations: An event-related potential based study.” PLoS One 11 (9): e0163360. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0163360.
Hancock, P. A., and J. S. Warm. 1989. “A dynamic-model of stress and sustained attention.” Hum. Factors 31 (5): 519–537. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872088903100503.
Hasanzadeh, S., B. Esmaeili, and M. D. Dodd. 2017. “Impact of construction workers’ hazard identification skills on their visual attention.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 143 (10): 04017070. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001373.
Heinrich, H. W., D. Petersen, and N. Roos. 1950. Industrial accident prevention: A scientific approach. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Hockey, G. R. J. 1997. “Compensatory control in the regulation of human performance under stress and high workload: A cognitive-energetical framework.” Biol. Psychol. 45 (1–3): 73–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-0511(96)05223-4.
Hopstaken, J. F., D. van der Linden, A. B. Bakker, and M. A. J. Kompier. 2015. “The window of my eyes: Task disengagement and mental fatigue covary with pupil dynamics.” Biol. Psychol. 110 (Jun): 100–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.06.013.
Käthner, I., S. C. Wriessnegger, G. R. Müller-Putz, A. Kübler, and S. Halder. 2014. “Effects of mental workload and fatigue on the P300, alpha and theta band power during operation of an ERP (P300) brain-computer interface.” Biol. Psychol. 102 (Aug): 118–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.07.014.
Ke, J. J., M. Zhang, X. W. Luo, and J. Y. Chen. 2021. “Monitoring distraction of construction workers caused by noise using a wearable Electroencephalography (EEG) device.” Autom. Constr. 125 (May): 103598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2021.103598.
Keil, A., S. Debener, G. Gratton, M. Junghöfer, E. S. Kappenman, S. J. Luck, P. Luu, G. A. Miller, and C. M. Yee. 2014. “Committee report: Publication guidelines and recommendations for studies using electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography.” Psychophysiology 51 (1): 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12147.
Khalid, U., A. Sagoo, and M. Benachir. 2021. “Safety management system (SMS) framework development—Mitigating the critical safety factors affecting health and safety performance in construction projects.” Saf. Sci. 143 (Nov): 105402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2021.105402.
Kitani, T. 2011. “Term committee of Japanese society of fatigue science.” Nihon Hirougakkaishi 6 (Apr): 1.
Koc, K., O. Ekmekcioglu, and A. P. Gurgun. 2023. “Developing a national data-driven construction safety management framework with interpretable fatal accident prediction.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 149 (4): 04023010. https://doi.org/10.1061/JCEMD4.COENG-12848.
Kurzban, R., A. Duckworth, J. W. Kable, and J. Myers. 2013. “An opportunity cost model of subjective effort and task performance.” Behav. Brain Sci. 36 (6): 661–679. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X12003196.
Larue, G. S., A. Rakotonirainy, and A. N. Pettitt. 2011. “Driving performance impairments due to hypovigilance on monotonous roads.” Accid. Anal. Prev. 43 (6): 2037–2046. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2011.05.023.
Laszlo, S., M. Ruiz-Blondet, N. Khalifian, F. Chu, and Z. P. Jin. 2014. “A direct comparison of active and passive amplification electrodes in the same amplifier system.” J. Neurosci. Methods 235 (Dec): 298–307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneumeth.2014.05.012.
Li, J., H. Li, H. W. Wang, W. Umer, H. Fu, and X. J. Xing. 2019. “Evaluating the impact of mental fatigue on construction equipment operators’ ability to detect hazards using wearable eye-tracking technology.” Autom. Constr. 105 (Sep): 102835. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2019.102835.
Li, L., L. Zhang, and L. Niu. 2017. “Event-related potentials study of miners’ safety attention at different job stages.” J. China Saf. Sci. Technol. 13 (Aug): 96–101.
Lim, J. L., and D. F. Dinges. 2008. “Sleep deprivation and vigilant attention.” Ann. New York Acad. Sci. 1129 (1): 305–322.
Lorist, M. M. 2008. “Impact of top-down control during mental fatigue.” Brain Res. 1232 (Sep): 113–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2008.07.053.
Luria, A. 1973. The working brain: An introduction to neuropsychology. New York: Basic Books.
Ma, J., H. Li, X. E. Yu, X. Fang, B. Fang, Z. Y. Zhao, X. C. Huang, S. Anwer, and X. J. Xing. 2023. “Sweat analysis-based fatigue monitoring during construction rebar bending tasks.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 149 (9): 04023072.
Maynard, S., W. Jones, A. Filtness, A. Gibb, and R. Haslam. 2021. “Going underground: Fatigue and sleepiness in tunnelling operations.” Appl. Ergon. 90 (Jan): 103237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2020.103237.
Mehmood, I., H. Li, Y. Qarout, W. Umer, S. Anwer, H. Wu, M. Hussain, and M. Fordjour Antwi-Afari. 2023a. “Deep learning-based construction equipment operators’ mental fatigue classification using wearable EEG sensor data.” Adv. Eng. Inf. 56 (Apr): 101978. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aei.2023.101978.
Mehmood, I., H. Li, Y. Qarout, W. Umer, S. Anwer, H. T. Wu, M. Hussain, and M. F. Antwi-Afari. 2023b. “Deep learning-based construction equipment operators’ mental fatigue classification using wearable EEG sensor data.” Adv. Eng. Inf. 56 (Apr): 101978. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aei.2023.101978.
Naito, Y., H. Ando, and M. Yamaguchi. 2005. “Assessment of traumatic brain injury patients by WAIS-R, P300, and performance on oddball task.” Kobe J. Med. Sci. 51 (Aug): 95–105.
Namian, M., F. Taherpour, E. Ghiasvand, and Y. Turkan. 2021. “Insidious safety threat of fatigue: Investigating construction workers’ risk of accident due to fatigue.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 147 (12): 04021162. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0002180.
Nuwer, M. R. 1998. “Fundamentals of evoked potentials and common clinical applications today.” Electroencephalography Clin. Neurophysiol. 106 (2): 142–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0013-4694(97)00117-X.
Reason, J. 1990. Human error. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sanders, A. F. 1983. “Towards a model of stress and human-performance.” Acta Psychol. 53 (1): 61–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-6918(83)90016-1.
Smith, M. R., L. Zeuwts, M. Lenoir, N. Hens, L. M. S. De Jong, and A. J. Coutts. 2016. “Mental fatigue impairs soccer-specific decision-making skill.” J. Sports Sci. 34 (14): 1297–1304. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2016.1156241.
Spronk, M., L. M. Jonkman, and C. Kemner. 2008. “Response inhibition and attention processing in 5-to 7-year-old children with and without symptoms of ADHD: An ERP study.” Clin. Neurophysiol. 119 (12): 2738–2752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2008.09.010.
Strüber, D., and J. Polich. 2002. “P300 and slow wave from oddball and single-stimulus visual tasks: Inter-stimulus interval effects.” Int. J. Psychophysiol. 45 (3): 187–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8760(02)00071-5.
Sun, Y., J. Lim, Z. X. Dai, K. Wong, F. Taya, Y. Chen, J. H. Li, N. Thakor, and A. Bezerianos. 2017. “The effects of a mid-task break on the brain connectome in healthy participants: A resting-state functional MRI study.” Neuroimage 152 (Mar): 19–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.02.084.
Takacs, E., I. Barkaszi, A. Altbacker, I. Czigler, and L. Balazs. 2019. “Cognitive resilience after prolonged task performance: An ERP investigation.” Exp. Brain Res. 237 (Dec): 377–388.
Tanaka, M., K. Mizuno, S. Tajima, T. Sasabe, and Y. Watanabe. 2009. “Central nervous system fatigue alters autonomic nerve activity.” Life Sci. 84 (7–8): 235–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lfs.2008.12.004.
Techera, U., M. Hallowell, and R. Littlejohn. 2018a. “Worker fatigue in electrical-transmission and distribution-line construction.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 145 (1): 04018119. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001580.
Techera, U., M. Hallowell, R. Littlejohn, and S. Rajendran. 2018b. “Measuring and predicting fatigue in construction: Empirical field study.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 144 (Aug): 04018062.
Umer, W., Y. T. Yu, and M. F. A. Afari. 2021. “Quantifying the effect of mental stress on physical stress for construction tasks.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 148 (3): 04021204. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0002243.
van der Linden, D., and P. Eling. 2006. “Mental fatigue disturbs local processing more than global processing.” Psychol. Res. 70 (5): 395–402. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-005-0228-7.
Wang, Y., Y. C. Huang, B. T. Gu, S. H. Cao, and D. P. Fang. 2023. “Identifying mental fatigue of construction workers using EEG and deep learning.” Autom. Constr. 151 (Jul): 104887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2023.104887.
Watford, T. S., W. H. O’Brien, H. R. Koerten, L. M. Bogusch, M. T. Moeller, R. Sonia Singh, and T. E. Sims. 2020. “The mindful attention and awareness scale is associated with lower levels of high-frequency heart rate variability in a laboratory context.” Psychophysiology 57 (3): e13506. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13506.
Wenger, M. J., and B. S. Gibson. 2004. “Using hazard functions to assess changes in processing capacity in an attentional cuing paradigm.” J. Exp. Psychol. Hum. Percept. Perform. 30 (4): 708–719. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.30.4.708.
Westbrook, A., and T. S. Braver. 2015. “Cognitive effort: A neuroeconomic approach.” Cognit. Affect. Behav. Neurosci. 15 (2): 395–415. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-015-0334-y.
Xing, X. J., B. T. Zhong, H. B. Luo, T. Rose, J. Li, and M. F. Antwi-Afari. 2020. “Effects of physical fatigue on the induction of mental fatigue of construction workers: A pilot study based on a neurophysiological approach.” Autom. Constr. 120 (Dec): 103381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2020.103381.
Zhang, Z. T., T. Xiang, H. L. Guo, L. Ma, Z. Y. Guan, and Y. H. Fang. 2023. “Impact of physical and mental fatigue on construction workers’ unsafe behavior based on physiological measurement.” J. Saf. Res. 85 (Aug): 457–468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2023.04.014.
Zhao, C. L., M. Zhao, J. P. Liu, and C. X. Zheng. 2012. “Electroencephalogram and electrocardiograph assessment of mental fatigue in a driving simulator.” Accid. Anal. Prev. 45 (Feb): 83–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2011.11.019.
Zijlstra, F. R. H. 1993. “Efficiency in work behavior: A design approach for modern tools.” Doctoral thesis, Faculty of Philosophy and Technical Social Sciences, Delft Univ. of Technology.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 150 • Issue 8 • August 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 1, 2023
Accepted: Mar 27, 2024
Published online: Jun 13, 2024
Published in print: Aug 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Nov 13, 2024
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.