Using eye movementsto identify hazardsmissed by at-risk workers

Sogand Hasanzadeh, Behzad Esmaeili, Michel D. Dodd, Eugenio Pellicer

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Identifying hazardous situations is a complex and multidimensional cognitive process that requires the proper allocation of workers' attention. Eye-Tracking technologies provide a viable option for studying construction workers' attentional allocation and for linking attention to their hazard-identification capabilities. The objective of the study is to use eye-movement measures to determine which types of hazards construction workers miss, ignore, or perceive to be insignificant. In order to achieve this goal, 31 construction workers participated in a controlled laboratory experiment in which they searched for hazards in images of 35 real construction-site scenarios while a head-mounted EyeLink II tracked their eye movements. The results showed differences in the participants' attentional distributions and that the hazard identification of workers with low and high hazard-identification skills stems from the types of hazard-not the number of hazards-within the scenarios. Further investigation on five images revealed that at-risk workers dwelt on imminent danger (e.g., workers in dangerous areas) rather than spreading their attentional efforts searching for sources of non-obvious hazards, including electrical hazards, housekeeping hazards and fall-protection-system-related hazards. The results of this experiment can thus support personalized safety training that targets at-risk workers.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationISEC 2017 - 9th International Structural Engineering and Construction Conference
Subtitle of host publicationResilient Structures and Sustainable Construction
EditorsJose M. Adam, Eugenio Pellicer, Siamak Yazdani, Amarjit Singh, Victor Yepes
PublisherISEC Press
ISBN (Electronic)9780996043748
StatePublished - 2017
Event9th International Structural Engineering and Construction Conference: Resilient Structures and Sustainable Construction, ISEC 2017 - Valencia, Spain
Duration: Jul 24 2017Jul 29 2017

Publication series

NameISEC 2017 - 9th International Structural Engineering and Construction Conference: Resilient Structures and Sustainable Construction

Other

Other9th International Structural Engineering and Construction Conference: Resilient Structures and Sustainable Construction, ISEC 2017
Country/TerritorySpain
CityValencia
Period7/24/177/29/17

Keywords

  • Construction safety
  • Eye-Tracking
  • Hazard identification
  • Safety training
  • Visual attention

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Building and Construction

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