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Safety Is the New Black: The Increasing Role of Wearables in Occupational Health and Safety in Construction

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Business Information Systems (BIS 2019)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing ((LNBIP,volume 353))

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Abstract

As wearable technologies are gaining increased attention in construction, we present an integrated solution for their adoption in occupational health and safety (OHS). Research methods include a structured literature review of 37 articles and a year-long design science research project in a construction group. The main results are (1) the identification of new wearable solutions made available by industry 4.0 to prevent hazards, and (2) a wearable model for voluntary regulations compliance. For theory, our research identifies key application areas for integrated smart OHS in construction and highlights the importance of continuous monitoring and alerts to complement the traditional sampling techniques. For practice, we offer recommendations for managers wishing to implement continuous compliance checking and risk prevention using wearable technology. Our findings help improve health and safety audits supported by digital evidence in the sector with most risks of accidents in the European Union.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Informatics Engineering, University of Coimbra, Pólo II, Pinhal de Marrocos, 3030-290, Coimbra, Portugal

    João Barata & Paulo Rupino da Cunha

Authors
  1. João Barata
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  2. Paulo Rupino da Cunha
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Correspondence to João Barata .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Poznań University of Economics and Business, Poznań, Poland

    Witold Abramowicz

  2. ETSI Informática, University of Seville, Seville, Spain

    Rafael Corchuelo

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Barata, J., da Cunha, P.R. (2019). Safety Is the New Black: The Increasing Role of Wearables in Occupational Health and Safety in Construction. In: Abramowicz, W., Corchuelo, R. (eds) Business Information Systems. BIS 2019. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 353. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20485-3_41

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20485-3_41

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-20485-3

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