Decision Support Framework for Selecting Wearable Internet of Things Devices for Safety Management in Construction

Construction workers are usually faced with many safety and health risks due to the hazardous nature of the construction work environment. The application of emerging safety technologies such as wearable sensing devices (WSDs) and the Internet of things (IoT) has been identified as one of the most effective means of predicting future performance and preventing these risky events. In spite of the benefits of these devices, their implementation on construction sites to protect workers and improve their safety performance is still limited. Several IoT-based wearable sensing devices are being used in other industries to monitor metrics that are similar to those that can be monitored to manage workers’ safety on construction jobsites. Hence, there is a need to develop some criteria for evaluating these devices for their applications in construction. The main purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual decision-making framework that stakeholders can use to select Wearable Internet of Things (WIoT) devices for applications in construction. The research approach involves a review of literature on WIoT devices and the development of a decision-making framework using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). This study presents an initial attempt geared toward providing stakeholders with an effective decision-making tool that can be used to select WIoT devices for implementation in the construction industry.